TEHRAN, Oct 25: Stand-in skipper Karim Bagheri scored on the stroke of half-time to give Iran a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates here on Thursday in the first leg of the Asian zone World Cup play-off.

Despite dominating the match from start to finish, Iran may well be left to regret a host of missed chances when they travel to Abu Dhabi on Oct 31 for the return leg.

The winners of the Asian play-off will go on to face the Republic of Ireland over two legs for a place in the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea next summer.

Iran had been forced into the play-offs after losing their final Group A game 3-1 in Bahrain last week while rivals Saudi Arabia clinched their place in the finals by defeating Thailand 4-1.

Bagheri, leading the team in the absence of the suspended Ali Daei on Thursday, struck just before the interval to score the only goal of the game.

A corner from Ali Karimi was punched away by Mutaz Abdulla in the UAE goal, but the ball fell invitingly to Bagheri who slotted it home from the edge of the box.

But Iran should have wrapped up this match comfortably in front of 50,000 fans in the Azadi Stadium.

In the first half alone, the impressive Ali Karimi had a dozen raids on the UAE goal with Abdulla pulling off a string of fine saves. Karimi then watched in agony when, for once, he beat Abdulla only to see his shot come off the post.

Iran coach Miroslav Blazevic, who was sent off with two of his players in the match with Bahrain, showed his disgust from the touchline as his players squandered more chances after the break.

The UAE were happy to soak up the pressure, but had two opportunities in the second half to pile on more misery for Iran.

First, Fahed Masoud saw a 67th-minute free-kick saved and then Yasser Salem came close three minutes from the end.

The return match in Abu Dhabi takes place on Oct 31 while the two matches against the Republic of Ireland are scheduled for Nov 10 in Dublin with the return in either the UAE or Iran on Nov 15.—AFP