Shorta’s 7-1 Thunder: A Najaf Night Pushes Them Toward Second in the Iraqi Premier League

Match Recap

Al-Shorta, the defending champions of the Iraqi Premier League, kept their push alive with a 7-1 thrashing of Al-Qasim at the Najaf Stadium, opening the eleventh round of the season.

Al-Qasim struck first through Mohammed Ali Atifa in the fourth minute, but Shorta equalized in the 10th minute via Syrian Mahmoud Al-Mawas. Ahmed Farhan fired the visitors ahead just before the break at 45+1, sending the teams to halftime with Shorta up 2-1.

The second half belonged to the visitors as Cameroonian Lionel Atiiba netted twice in the 65th and 69th minutes, followed by Senegal’s Dominique Mendy sealing the fifth in the 72nd minute. Ahmed Farhan added a sixth in the 88th, and Sharf Abdul-Kadhim completed the scoring in stoppage time at 90+2.

This was Shorta’s second consecutive win, a sign of their revival after losses to Al-Talaba and Amanat Baghdad, and they rose to second with 21 points, pending a match against Al-Zawraa.

Al-Qasim’s day soured further as they remained rooted at the bottom with a single point, while Erbil still led the standings with 24 points ahead of their clash with Mosul on Thursday evening.

Punchline: If football had a sniper, Shorta just painted a perfect bullseye—seven shots, seven goals, and no need for a second take. And yes, the defense filed a report for excessive fireworks. Punchline 2: In a league this spicy, even the scoreboard needs a fire extinguisher after that show.