Erbil come from behind to beat opponents Al-Bahri 3-1 in Iraqi Premier League

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Erbil Sports Club put in a dominant performance on Saturday as they came from behind to beat opponents Al-Bahri 3-1 in the Iraqi Premier League.

After a slow start to the game, the Basra-based football club took the lead in the 30th minute when Ahmed Dawood scored.

Despite their efforts to find an equalizer, Erbil went into the half-time break down 1-0.

The Kurdish club created some promising chances in the second half and eventually leveled the scores when Neiaz Muhammed put the ball into the back of the net in the 60th minute.

Brazilian playmaker Marcelo Silva, who scored a late goal in Erbil’s previous match, was on the scoresheet again when he put his team ahead 2-1 on 70 minutes. Silva added another in the 85th to secure a 3-1 win for Erbil.

The win moves Erbil (12-11-13) up to eighth place in the Iraqi Premier League table on 47 points, with two games remaining in the season. Erbil plays Naft Al-Wassat (10-16-10) next.

Related Article: Late goal secures victory for Erbil 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.