Early goals condemn Erbil to 2-1 defeat in Iraqi Premier League

Two early goals condemned Erbil Sports Club to their 10th loss of the season after they were beaten 2-1 by opponents Alsinaat Alkahrabaiya in the Iraqi Premier League on Thursday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two early goals condemned Erbil Sports Club to their 10th loss of the season after they were beaten 2-1 by opponents Alsinaat Alkahrabaiya in the Iraqi Premier League on Thursday.

Manar Taha opened the scoring for Baghdad-based club Alsinaat Alkahrabaiya (5W-9D-9L) in the second minute before Mustafa Mahmoud doubled his team’s lead two minutes later at the Iraqi capital's Al Taji Stadium.

Erbil fought hard to get themselves back into the game and was given hope in the second half of the match when Marcelo Silva scored in the 75th minute. However, it was not enough as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The Kurdistan Region club has failed to win a match in the Iraqi Premier League since they dismantled Al-Zawraa 4-0 in late February.

Erbil (7W-6D-10L) risk losing their spot in the top 10 and could fall as low as 13th place depending on Friday’s remaining fixtures in week 23 of the Iraqi Premier League.

Erbil’s next match is at home to Al-Kahrabaa (5W-9D-9L) on April 27.  

One of the league’s most successful football clubs, Erbil withdrew from Iraq’s Premier League during the 2016-17 season due to financial issues.

They have been crowned Iraqi Premier League champions four times, most recently in the 2011-12 season, when they only lost one match.

Erbil is also the first club from the Iraqi league to qualify for continental club tournaments. In 2008, they qualified for the Asian Champions League but failed to progress from the group stage.

However, in Asia’s second-tier continental tournament, the AFC Cup, Erbil have finished runners-up on two occasions, in 2012 and 2014.  

Editing by John J. Catherine