JEDDAH, 4 May 2006 — Kingdom teams Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab scored important victories in the AFC Champions League last night. Shabab secured the three win points against Al-Saad in Qatar after winning the match 3-2.

Shabab are now equal in points with Al-Saad at 10 in Group D but the latter kept the lead with a better goal difference play.

Nashaat Akram scored the first of his two goals for Shabab in the 21st minute followed by Naser Al-Shamrani in the 39th minute. Akram then scored the third goal for Shabab from a header in the 56th minute.

Carlos scored late goals in the 83rd and 90th minutes to avoid a Saad shutout.

In Riyadh at King Fahd International Stadium, Hilal kept their hopes alive after winning against Al-Ain of UAE 2-1 on a penalty goal in the closing minutes.

Camacho struck for Hilal in the 32nd minute from a nice shot outside the penalty box. Al-Ain equalized in the 48th minute with a strike from inside the penalty box. With the win Hilal increased their tally to 9 points in Group B and their hopes of qualifying will be determined when they play their last match on May 17.

For Hilal to qualify they need another three points and hope that Al-Ain either lose or draw their remaining match.

Elsewhere, Japan’s Asian Champions League jinx was extended yesterday by two sides from fierce regional rivals South Korea. J-League champions Gamba Osaka and Emperor’s Cup winners Tokyo Verdy were bidding to become the first Japanese teams to reach the knockout stages. Both failed miserably.

Gamba were held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Chonbuk Motors, leaving them five points behind Group E leaders Dalian Shide of China.

Cho Jin-soo’s opener for Chonbuk in first-half injury time was canceled out by Satoshi Yamaguchi in the 74th minute but it was not enough to keep Gamba’s hopes alive.

Liu Cheng’s fourth-minute strike gave Dalian a 1-0 victory at Vietnam’s Da Nang. The Chinese have 12 points from five games, two more than Chonbuk. Dalian travel to South Korea in their final match on May 17.

South Korea forward Lee Chun-soo swept home a free kick from the edge of the box just before halftime to earn Ulsan Tigers a quarter-final spot with a 1-0 victory at home to Verdy.

Ulsan finished with six points from two games. Ulsan and Verdy were the only teams in Group F following the expulsion of Thailand’s Tobacco Monopoly and Arema Malang of Indonesia. China’s Shanghai Shenhua booked their place in the semifinals with a 4-2 win at Vietnam’s Dong Tam in Group G.

— With additional input from Reuters