JEDDAH, 27 October 2004 — Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia battled back from two goals down to draw with South Korea’s Chonbuk Motors 2-2 yesterday and advance to the Asian Champions League final 4-3 on aggregate.
Brazilians Paulo Rink and Botti gave Chonbuk a 2-0 half-time advantage at Chonju World Cup Stadium to put the South Korean Cup holders in charge after a 2-1 loss in Jeddah last week.
However, Al Ittihad’s Brazilian midfielder Chechco converted a hotly disputed penalty for the Saudi team in the 68th minute. Osama Al-Muwwalad clinched the day for Ittihad by snatching a superb equalizer after 89 minutes to send Al Ittihad through to the two-leg final to be played on Nov. 24 and Dec.1.
On a cold evening in Seoul, Ittihad started the game in a very cool manner with Ittihad showing a penchant for the midfield battle in the first half. But Koreans were more organized and they secured two key goals during this domination.
Koreans held on to the lead till the break and well into the second half, before the 20-minute drama saw them lose their hold on the game.
Ittihad paced their attack to a finesse in the second half, building on strong midfield play. They strung out moves that troubled the Korean defense repeatedly.
The Koreans, throwing caution to the winds, on more than one occasion came close to scoring but Ittihad’s keeper Hussein Al-Sadeq stood firm.
Ittihad’s coach Evitch made important changes by putting Al-Muwwalad in front instead of playing as a withdrawn forward. This tactic paid off as Al-Muwwalad repeatedly broke past the Korean defenders with some fine solo runs.
The six-time Saudi champions will play either Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor or South Korean title holders Seongnam Ilhwa, who meet today after a goalless draw last week.
