Erbil falls short of Iraqi football championship

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil Sports Club on Saturday failed to win the Iraqi Cup. It was defeated in a dramatic final game against al-Quwa al Jawiya, one of Iraq’s oldest and most prestigious football teams that took the match 1-0.

The match's sole goal was scored by Jawiya’s Muhannad Abdul Rahim.

Some 5,000 fans traveled from Erbil to the Iraqi capital to support their team, in hopes of seeing it win its first ever Iraqi Cup.

In Erbil, thousands of football fans crowded the streets and public squares to watch their favorite team.

 

Clashes broke out between fans in the stadium, but the intense game was not halted. 

Erbil Sports Club has won the Iraqi Premier League four times in its history. This year was its first time reaching the final of the Iraqi Cup. 

On the continental level, it was runner up in the 2012 and 2014 AFC cups. 

By defeating Erbil in the final, Jawiya became Six-time Iraqi Cup champion and celebrated its 38th win against the Kurdish side.