The Police Club achieved a valuable and difficult victory over its guest Oil with a clean goal, in the match that brought the two teams together this Friday afternoon at the Cage Stadium, as part of the 32nd round of the Iraqi Stars League. The victory brought 'the Harp' back into the title race strongly and temporarily reduced the gap with the leader Air Force to 4 points.

The match started with expected pressure from the Police, who were seeking the three points at any cost to maintain their competition hopes. Hashim Reza pushed with an attacking formation from the start, but the organized Oil defense, led by its defenders, was an impenetrable barrier against the attempts of Mimi and Abdel Zahra.

Oil relied on the method it excels at against the big teams: defensive grouping and relying on counterattacks. The visiting team almost surprised the Police in the 33rd minute with a dangerous counterattack, but the alertness of the Police goalkeeper prevented the net from shaking.

The Police controlled the ball with a percentage exceeding 65% but failed to translate the control into goals. The absence of the final touch and the attack's impotence in the final third was the theme of the first half, which ended in a goalless draw amid the concern of 'the Harp' fans at the People's Stadium.

At the start of the second half, Hashim Reza threw all his attacking cards and asked his players to shoot from outside the area to break Oil's defensive grouping. The continuous pressure resulted in the salvation goal in the 57th minute by Sharif Abdul Kadhim.

The only goal of the match came in favor of the Police through the player Sharif Abdul Kadhim in the 57th minute of the second half.

After the goal, Oil tried to get out of its areas and adjust the score, but the Police closed the spaces and tightened control over the midfield. The last minutes witnessed great tension and desperate attempts from Oil, but the final whistle announced the Police's 1-0 victory.

With this valuable victory, the Police Club raised its tally to 67 points in second place, reducing the gap with the leader Air Force to only 4 points. Air Force, with 71 points, will play its match tomorrow in the same round, and any stumble will ignite the title race crazily with 6 rounds remaining.

On the other hand, Oil's tally froze at 39 points in 13th place, but the team played a big match and embarrassed the Police on its ground and among its fans. Oil confirmed that it is one of the 'tough teams' that is difficult to beat, and if it weren't for Abdul Kadhim's goal, it would have left with a valuable point from the Cage Stadium.