JEDDAH, 3 March 2005 — Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli delivered the needed victories yesterday to qualify for the quarterfinals in the Arab Champions League soccer tournament.
With Al-Hilal already qualified from Group C despite a 1-0 defeat by Tunisia’s C. Africain in their final match on Tuesday, all three Saudi teams progressed into the next round for a perfect batting average thus far in the tournament.
Sergio Herrera made sure Ittihad qualify by scoring a pair of goals in a 2-0 victory over Wefaq Steef in Algeria.
That enabled Ittihad to finish top of Group B with 13 points with Ahli of Qatar the second qualifier.
A draw would have been enough for Ittihad but the Jeddah-based squad were able to raise their game to the next level to be in command of the important match.
Herrera put Ittihad ahead with a goal in the 60th minute. He then completed his double by scoring again two minutes into injury time.
Needing to win to stay alive, Ahli did just that against Bizertin of Tunisia to the delight of the home crowd here.
For Ahli, the 1-0 victory stemmed a run of poor results and brought the needed confidence if they were to go beyond the round of eight in the premier regional event.
Hussein Abdulghani booted in a beautiful pass from Saad Al Zahrani inside the box in the 28th minute in what proved the only needed burst for Ahli which advanced as the second qualifier from Group D with eight points.
Cheered on by their loyal supporters, Ahli sparkled on both ends of the field to accomplish their mission.
