JEDDAH, 26 February 2007 — Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli play away against Qadisiya of Kuwait in the second leg of the quarterfinal series in the Arab Champions League football competition. The other second leg Group A match today has El Zamalek of Egypt in Algeria for a return bout against hosts CA Bordj Bou Arreridj.
Ahli arrived in Kuwait three days ago to have more time to settle down and get familiar with the territory. Serbian coach Nebusha said all that matters for now is that Ahli secure the game three points and worry about the last match against Zamalek later.
Lest Ahli slide into complacency Nebusha asked the team to forget about the 6-0 first leg victory and the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup Ahli won against Ittihad and focus on the match. He said that the team Ahli drubbed in the first leg match is different from the one they are going to face today. He said he expects the Kuwaiti team to go all out against Ahli and use their loss to Al-Ittifaq as the strong motivation to win this match.
Nebusha, however, expressed high hopes Ahli would win the match and strengthen their position in Group A.
The situation of Group A is critical with Zamalek on top with seven points from two wins, one draw and one defeat. Ahli are second with 6 points from two wins and two defeats. CA Bordj Bou Arreridj of Algeria are third with five points from one twin, two draws and one defeat. Qadisiya bring up the rear with four points from one win, one draw and two defeats.
A quick look at the schedule shows that no team is safe. The gap between the first and last is only three points and so far with two rounds remaining the semifinal picture still remains unclear. It is a stage where no team can afford to lose points. Ahli are one point adrift of the leaders and need to secure the game three points in order to qualify.
Qadisiya, on the other hand, want to erase the stigma of the 6-0 embarrassing defeat against Ahli. Qadisiya are also keen to recover from the defeat by the Dammam-based team Ittifaq in the final of Gulf Cup Championship for Clubs last week in Dammam. The final second leg match ended in a 1-1 draw giving Ittifaq a winning aggregate score of 2-1 having won the first leg by 1-0. The Kuwaiti team want to make peace with the fans and put an end to the embarrassment against Saudi teams.
Qadisiya need the win and three points to keep their hopes for qualifying alive. If the result ended in any other way, then their chances of qualifying will become extremely difficult. A win for Ahli means that Ahli are one point away from the semifinals and take their tally to 9 points and may take the lead of the group contingent on Zamalek either drawing or losing their match against Bou Arreridj. A combination of a draw in the Zamalek-Arreridj match and an Ahli win will keep the Group A race in the balance, while victories by both Zamalek and Ahli will give them the two semifinal spots from the group.
