JEDDAH, 29 November 2006 — To come back from a 4-1 defeat in a first leg match was a mission next to impossible.
But to their credit Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia tried and nearly equalized the Arab Champions League second round series against ES Setif of Algeria in the second leg match at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here last night. Ittihad won the return leg 3-1 but the Algerians qualified for the quarterfinals on aggregate score of 5-4.
In front of more than 20,000 fans who kept the faith in Ittihad and hoped the impossible might happen, Ittihad entered the match with a strong desire to repair their battered image that resulted in that first leg drubbing.
Ittihad came on strong from the first minute of the match and were able to limit the movement of their opponents in their half of the field. Hasan Keta drew first blood in the 24th minute of the match, putting the ball in the back of the net after he received a neat pass from Muhammad Nur inside the penalty box. Ittihad took control of the match and managed to end the first half 1-0 in their favor.
ES Setif shocked Ittihad fans when Lasaad Burahli, known to Algerian fans as The Fox, scored the equalizer with a fine shot on the rebound inside the penalty box.
For a moment Ittihad’s hopes of coming back looked dim and the crowd started to throw debris inside the field.
The match shifted to another level in the 77th when Keta scored the second goal for Ittihad after Muhammad’s Nur shot ricocheted in front of the surprised Keta who then collected the ball and slammed it inside the net.
Another goal came Ittihad’s way four minutes later in the 81-minute mark and this time it was from Manaf Abu Shgeer who converted a Hamza Idrees pass inside the penalty box.
With a 3-1 lead and down by only a goal on aggregate, Ittihad came back to life. The team kept pushing forward searching for a goal but all their attempts were met by strong Algerian defense line that managed to keep the score to the end as the visitors reached the quarterfinals with a one-goal lead in the aggregate score.
Ittihad’s exit leaves two Saudi sides still in contention in the tournament after Al-Nasr and Al-Ahli both advanced into the quarterfinals. Nasr qualified after the 2-2 draw against MC Alger in Algeria in the second leg match on Monday. Nasr defeated MC Alger in Riyadh 2-1 on Nov. 21 to qualify with a one-goal lead on aggregate. Ahli qualified on goal difference in the home and away series after they drew against RCA Raja in Morocco 3-3 last Sunday. The first leg match in Jeddah ended in a 1-1 draw. The draw for the quarterfinals matches will take place in Tunisia next Saturday.
