JEDDAH,13 March 2008 — Two-time AFC champions Al-Ittihad were awarded their first three points at home with a 1-0 victory over Quruvchi Tashkent of Uzbekistan while their city rivals Al-Ahli lost in the away match against Al-Sadd Al-Qatari 2-1 in the 2008 AFC Champions League yesterday.
Ittihad struggled for most of the entire run of the match to score the winning goal. Ittihad forwards especially Hassan Keta missed the target on many occasions while their goalkeeper Tasser Al-Nitaef saved the day on more than one serious counter attacks waged by the guests in the second half.
The home team’s only goal came in the 80th minute when Magno Alves powered home a right-footed shot.
The home team took control of the first half while the Uzbeks struggled all night long to find the net in the second half.
The guests came close to scoring the equalizer seconds before the referee blew the whistle but were deprived of a point away by Al-Nitaef who deflected the shot away.
Meanwhile, in the other match involving another Saudi team in Doha, Al-Sadd snatched an early goal two minutes into the match through Brazilian forward Marcio Emerson.
Emerson broke through Ahli’s defense placing the ball in lower left hand side of the goalkeeper. Al-Sadd controlled most of the first half except for a few tentative shots on goal by the guests. The early goal shook Ahli as their game looked disjointed against the fluid display by the home team.
Alhi’s goalie Yasser Al-Musaleem fumbled an easy ball into the net 24 minutes later from a foul rewarded to Al-Sadd a few meters off the box taken by Felipe George.
The home side played man-to-man given their opponent’s little room to maneuver. To make matters worse for the guests Ahli’s Saheb Abdullah received his second yellow card for a rough tackle sending him off the pitch in the 44th minute.
Down by 2 goals with a one less player on the pitch the second half became touch-and-go as Al-Ahli decided gave the home side a run for their money with a fantastic performance in the period.
Flipping the tables on the their rivals, Al-Ahli took control of the second half in a courageous attempt to get back in the game. Al-Ahli got what they were searching for in the 73rd minute when a beautiful header by Brazilian substitute Fal Beano found its way to the net reviving hopes of an Ahli comeback.
Ahli came close via team captain Hussain Abdulghani minutes later but his power shot missed the target.
In Dubai, Al Quwa Al Jawiya weathered a missed penalty and won 1-0 at Al Wasl, prevailing over the Emirates league and cup champion in their opener on a first-half header. Ali Alwan scored the winner from a corner in the 32nd minute, and the Iraqis then had to withstand a penalty attempt by Brazilian Andre Dias, who missed just before halftime.
Al Wasl returned to dominate the second half, but still failed to finish its chances.
Brazilian Alexandre Oliveira’s goal two minutes after the break was disallowed for offside, paving way for the home side to dominate the final 43 minutes. Khalid Darwish squandered a couple of chances, firing meekly in the 60th and wide from close range three minutes later. The Iraqis had the better of the first half. Alwan twice threatened early, but failed to latch on to a ball after Majed Nasser made a desperate dive to push a low shot from Haitham Tahir in the ninth minute. Six minutes later, his dipping shot from 30 meters crashed against the crossbar.
— With input from Associated Press
