Abdolreza Karimzadeh was the hat-trick hero for Iran, as his team defeated Ireland 4-2 in pool B of the Football 7-a-Side tournament at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Striker Karimzadeh's name was first penciled in on the score sheet when he beat Irish goalkeeper Brian McGillivary in the 19th minute. The Iranian star received a yellow card for excessive celebrations.

Rasoul Atashafrouz scored from a tight angle to extend Iran's lead after 26 minutes. Ireland never gave up and continued to look for ways to get back in the game. Just before the end of the first half, an Iranian handball gave Ireland a penalty.

Iranian goalkeeper Ardeshir Mahini stopped Finbarr O'Riordan's penalty kick but O'Riordan quickly collected the rebound and registered Ireland's first goal

Ireland looked for an equalizer in the second half. Karimzadeh scored his second goal through an attempted cross that sailed into the top-left corner of the net.

Abdolreza scored his hat-trick through an Iranian counter-attack. Substitute Joseph James Markey gave Ireland some hope when his left-footed effort found the back of the net, but it was too little, too late as Iran won the match 4-2

Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday, September 10. Ireland will face Ukraine while Iran will meet Great Britain on the second day of pool B fixtures.

(BOCOG September 8, 2008)