Kazma loses to Erbil in Gulf Champions League

Abdulaziz Jasem

Kazma suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Gulf Club Champions Cup, falling 6-0 to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. The match, held at the François Hariri Stadium in Erbil as part of Group 3, significantly dimmed the Orange’s hopes of advancing to the second round, as they now sit at the bottom of the table with zero points, while the winners moved up to six points.

The first half began with clear pressure from Erbil players on Kazma’s goal. Kazma retreated deep into their own half, relying on their defense and goalkeeper Hussein Kanouni to repel the opponents’ attacks in the minutes leading up to the first goal, which came in the 28th minute through Evian Ezi, who finished a cross. Erbil added a second goal in the 46th minute after Carvalho Meulin dribbled past Fahd Al-Hajri, entered the penalty area, and fired a powerful shot into the net.

Kazma relied heavily on counter-attacks, despite fielding two forwards, Shuaib Al-Khalidi and German Torlies Knoll. However, this approach yielded no results due to Erbil’s aggressive approach, which kept the majority of their players in Kazma’s midfield.

In the second half, Meulin returned to score Erbil’s third goal with a well-placed header past substitute goalkeeper Faisal Al-Subaie in the 48th minute. Meulin then added a fourth goal for his team and his third of the match—a hat-trick—by converting a cross in the 58th minute. Erbil continued to attack Kazma’s goal amid significant disorganization and defensive confusion, with Meulin scoring his fifth goal for the team and his fourth personally—a super hat-trick—in the 76th minute. Ibrahim Baish sealed the victory with a shot from inside the penalty area in the 83rd minute.

Omani referee Saeed Al-Muzaini managed the match well, with no significant errors affecting the outcome.