JEDDAH, 20 October 2004 — Al-Ittihad struck in injury time to grab a key goal that gave them a 2-1 first-leg lead against Korean side Chonbuk Motors in the Asian Champions Cup Soccer Tournament here yesterday.
At Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah Stadium here, Mohammad Al-Montaseri met a superb Checo cross on the high and the redirected ball zoomed into the Chonbuk net leaving the Koreans bemused. The goal in the 92nd minute of the game could not have been more crucial as the Koreans had gained an away goal with a 85th minute leveler through Brazilian Putti.
The goal was a result of sustained pressure by the Koreans for much of the second half. The Ittihad defense, till that strike, had soaked up the pressure and managed to hold true against the repeated onslaught of the Koreans, who used the wings to good effect.
It was the turn of the Jeddah outfit to turn on the pressure in the last five minutes and a brilliant Checho run and a diving Al-Montaseri header clinched the day for Ittihad.
Ittihad had begun brightly and paced their attacks to a finesse. Building on strong midfield play they strung out moves that troubled the Korean defense repeatedly.
In one such move, they breached the Korean goal. Al-Montaseri did the hard work with a run down the right flank before effecting a high center into the Korean danger zone. Muhammad Nur rose above his shadow to head home. Ittihad held on to the lead till the break and well into the second half, before the seven-minute drama saw them lose the one-goal edge first before regaining it in injury time.
