Erbil moved clear in the Iraqi League with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Carbala in the eighth round of the regular season on Thursday. I. Eze was the only scorer, netting four goals across the ninety minutes to underpin the result. By then the visitors had already demonstrated they should have too much for the home side.
And here's the thing about the opening exchange: Eze struck twice inside eight minutes. His first came in the second minute, before Carbala had settled into any rhythm. The second arrived in the 24th, and the third followed almost immediately in the 25th. To be fair, the hosts offered little resistance throughout.
Erbil added a fourth in the 71st minute, extending their dominance without needing to shift into a higher gear. The visitors possessed 56 per cent of the ball and managed two shots on target against Carbala's one. The statistics tell you everything about a game where chances went begging on one side and were converted on the other.
Carbala sit 19th with five points from seven matches, a position that reflects their recent trajectory. They have lost four of their last five outings, including a 3-0 defeat to Mosul and a 2-0 loss to Al-Karma. The home side's attacking output of 78 attempts yielded just one shot on target, which says plenty about their inability to break through.
Erbil remain fourth with 14 points and have now extended their unbeaten run. They are three points behind the leaders after seven rounds, and this result kept them within striking distance. The gap between the two sides in the table has widened considerably, and the visitors look set to push on.