Al-Karma beat Naft 3-0 in the Iraqi League's Regular Season - 6 on September 9th, extending their unbeaten run to five matches and moving further clear in third place. By then the result was never in doubt, though the manner of it told you everything about how this afternoon would unfold.
And here's the thing — the opening goal came at the fourteen-minute mark, S. Amadi finishing a move that had been building since the first whistle. You could see the pattern from the start: Al-Karma wanted the ball in dangerous areas, and Naft's back line had nothing to do all evening.
Just ten minutes later, at twenty-four minutes, A. Faisal made it two. To be fair, Naft had more attacks overall — 107 to 90 — but they were wandering into space without purpose. Al-Karma's three shots on target versus Naft's zero told the real story.
The third goal came at the fifty-ninth minute through W. Ramadan, and by then the match had been decided in those first twenty-four minutes. Naft picked up three yellow cards but never threatened, while Al-Karma had six offsides — perhaps too aggressive in their positioning.
The statistics don't lie, though they rarely tell the full picture. Al-Karma held 54 per cent possession, won five corners to Naft's two, and converted every opportunity they had. Three shots, three goals — that's efficiency, not luck.
Al-Karma sit third with eleven points from five games, three wins and two draws, while Naft remain sixth with nine points. The hosts have won their last two, including a 2-0 victory over Kerbela, while Naft's recent 3-0 win against Al-Minaa Basra looks increasingly like an outlier.
What this means is simple: Al-Karma are building momentum, and Naft will need to find a way back into it if they want to climb. Three goals in one game is not something you recover from easily.