07 August 2004	Saturday	20 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

BEIJING, Aug 6: Ali Daei struck two late goals as Iran beat Bahrain 4-2 to finish third at the Asian Cup on Friday despite finishing with nine men in another bad-tempered game.

The 35-year-old striker scored twice in the last 10 minutes in Beijing, once from the penalty spot, marking his final Asian Cup game by taking his tally to 97 goals in 129 internationals.

Tempers flared in injury time, however, as Iran midfielder Mehdi Mahdavikia was sent off along with Bahrain midfielder Talal Yusuf for their part in a 20-man brawl. Iran, who were decimated by three suspensions in the group stage, had already lost substitute Arash Borhani, dismissed for a wild tackle in the 72nd minute.

The three-times champions were also shown two red cards in the semi-finals, when they were beaten on penalties by China. "Again we played the last 30 minutes without one player," said Croatian Branko Ivankovic, who is set to step down as Iran coach.

"But Ali Daei showed how important he is to us because he is a leader and a great player. We need him. I don't know how long, it's up to him. I hope he will play a little bit longer."

Ali Karimi again provided the spark for Iran against a valiant Bahrain side, who lost 4-3 to holders Japan in the semis. Karimi scored one goal and earned an 80th-minute penalty for Iran, who won the Asian Cup in 1968, 1972 and 1976.

His exquisite 52nd-minute lob was his fifth goal of the Asian Cup, making him the tournament's joint top scorer with Bahrain striker A'ala Hubail. Bahrain coach Srecko Juricic praised his team's run to the last four after finishing bottom of their group in their only previous Asian Cup appearance in 1988. "I think we can be satisfied with the performance," said the Croatian. "For the moment, I think that is the maximum for Bahrain." -Reuters