Dhi Qar and Al-Joulan played out a memorable 3:3 draw in the fourth round of the Iraqi League on Friday evening. The match at the home ground produced more goals than most teams would see in a full season. To be fair, neither side could claim they deserved more from a game that swung back and forth from the first whistle.
And here's the thing about this opening quarter — four goals in ten minutes. H. Tanji opened the scoring in the first minute before Hemeya Tanjy responded immediately. The visitors levelled at 7 minutes, then took the lead by 9 minutes. It set the tone for a match where momentum shifted faster than anyone could track.
The second half brought its own drama. A. Hamzah converted a penalty in the 32nd minute to restore parity. N. Sioud put Dhi Qar ahead again at 44 minutes, and for a while it looked like the hosts might hold on. By then, both teams had thrown caution to the wind.
What followed was pure chaos. J. M. Baghiah turned the game on its head with an own goal in the 82nd minute. You'd expect the visitors to collapse after that, but S. Ahmed struck in the 90th plus three minutes to salvage a point. A fourth straight win for Al-Joulan's campaign had been within reach.
The statistics tell part of the story. Dhi Qar recorded 79 attacks compared to 86 for the visitors, with six corners against two. The home side collected three yellow cards while the away team picked up four. Many shots with six goals means chances went begging, but this wasn't a game for efficiency.
After four rounds, Dhi Qar sit 11th with 49 points from 38 games. Al-Joulan occupy ninth place with five points from just four matches. The draw leaves both sides with something to build on, though the visitors will feel they should have too much for a side that switched off at the back.