There was a twist in the tale after 50 minutes when Shohrat Soyunov was shown a second yellow for a foul on Shimba just outside the box at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The match looked poised for a tie before Malian defender Moussa Coulibaly headed the winning goal in the dying embers of the match.
Foolad will again face the Turkmenistan’s side on Monday.