JEDDAH, 15 September 2005 — Al-Ittihad earned a 1-1 draw at China’s Shandong Luneng in the first leg of their Asian Champions League quarterfinal clash yesterday.
Playing for the first time in the competition having been given a bye for the preliminary rounds, defending champions Al-Ittihad took the lead in the 48th minute through Mohammed Noor, who headed the ball after receiving a long ball from the new Cameroonian forward Job, only for Li Xiaopeng to equalize six minutes later after the referee awarded the home team a free kick just outside the box.
The two teams were attacking during the match despite the pressure that Al-Ittihad was put under when the entire stadium was cheering for their home team.
The rematch will kick off next week in Jeddah. It will decide who will qualify for the semifinals. Ittihad will enter the match more confident since they will be playing at home.
Al-Ahli Down
Shenzhen 2-1
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli Club beat Chinese team Shenzhen (2-1) in a thriller in front of home crowd.
Rogiero and Walid Al-Jizani scored for the Saudi team while Fouzi Al-Shehry scored a self goal.
In both halves of the match, Al-Ahli players led by Hussein Abdul Ghani and supported by Muhammad Misaad and Talal Al-Mishaal put pressure on the Chinese goal.
Al-Jizani scored his side’s first goal by converting a corner kick into a powerful shot that shook Shenzhen goal.
Shenzhen was focusing on the defense throughout the game and their players often made a coordinated move to strike at Ahli goal whenever they got a chance.
A large number of Ahli fans were present in the stadium to support their team.
The Chinese missed several chances including corner kicks and their efforts to win an equalizer failed in the face of a strong Ahli defense.
