Erbil lose 2-0 to Al-Naft as Iraqi Premier League resumes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil Sports Club fell to a 2-0 defeat to Iraqi side Al-Naft on Saturday as the Iraqi Premier League resumed after a month-long break.

Al-Naft took the lead early in the match when Waleed Kareem struck a perfect volley to put the Iraqi club 1-0 up inside the first minute.

Erbil struck the post and had a goal disallowed for a foul on the opposition goalkeeper as the team went into the half-time break ruing their missed chances.

Despite the Kurdish side’s efforts, it was Al-Naft who doubled their advantage in the second half through Farhan Shukor on 57 minutes to secure a 2-0 win.

With the loss, Erbil (7W-5D-8L) missed their chance to move up to seventh in the Iraqi Premier League table; they remain in eighth place on 26 points.

Erbil’s next match is away to Al-Talaba on April 6.

Related Article: Erbil cruise to 4-0 win against Al-Zawraa in Iraqi Premier League

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.