Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Riffa: Al Zawraa suffered a last-minute heartbreak as they were knocked out of the 2018 AFC Cup after a dramatic 1-1 draw with Syria's Al Jaish on Tuesday.
The Iraqis looked on track to advance to the Zonal Semi-Finals, taking a 1-0 lead into added time of the second half, only to be clawed back by a late Ahmed Ashkar equaliser for Al Jaish.
After a cautious start and limited attempts from the two sides during the first half, Al Jaish’s Ward Al Salama had a magnificent chance to open the scoring few minutes into the second half, translating a perfect pass with a one touch that missed the target by few centimetres.
Al Zawraa responded in the 62nd minute with the opening goal after a smart one-two between Mohannad Abdul Raheem and Fiston Abdul Razak, the teamwork resulting in a powerful shot from the Burundian that bounced back into the path of Abdul Raheem who took his chance and fired the Iraqis in front.