Al-Karma beat Kerbela 2:0 in the Iraqi League's Regular Season round four, played on Saturday 30 August at their home ground. The hosts took control after the interval and saw out the match without further incident, extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.
S. Amadi gave Al-Karma the lead in the forty-ninth minute, arriving at the right moment to convert what looked like the better team's pressure. Kerbela had nothing to show for their first-half work, while the home side kept probing and found their breakthrough when the second half began.
M. Ogaili added a second in stoppage time, ninety-two minutes in, to put the result beyond doubt. By then Al-Karma had already played with confidence, and the late goal simply confirmed what the scoreboard was telling us from the sixtieth minute onwards.
Al-Karma dominated the numbers too. They recorded 213 attacks against Kerbela's 122, held 62 per cent possession, and fired nine shots on target. Kerbela managed just two on target from their efforts, and one corner to Al-Karma's nine showed who was doing the pressing.
The result moves Al-Karma further clear in second place on eight points from four games, two wins and two draws. Kerbela remain rooted to nineteenth with two points, having lost twice and drawn twice, and the gap between them is now six points.