Esteghlal’s Farshid Esmaeili almost opened the scoring for his side 16 minutes into the first-half after he directed Server Djeparov’s cross to the right corner of the net but goalkeeper Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri was alert to make the save.
Despite having more ball possession and creating more chances, Winfried Schafer’s men were unable to use their domination wisely in the first half as the whistle signaled for the two sides to head into the break level.
Goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati denied Zob Ahan’s most dangerous chance in the 54th minute after making a tremendous save from Mohammad Reza Hosseini’s superb header.
Zob Ahan was reduced to 10 men in the 90th minute after Mohammad Nejadmahdi was sent off for a second bookable offence. The visiting team looked to take the advantage but it was Zob Ahan who eventually managed to break the deadlock in the third minute of added time from the penalty spot.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi handled the ball inside the box and Gvelesiani converted the penalty and gave his side a slight advantage.
The second leg will take place on May 15 at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.