JEDDAH, 18 May — Local challengers Al-Shabab defeated Esteghlal from Iran 3-2 in the first semifinal of the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup here last night.

In the final, Shabab will meet Dalian of China who defeated Shimisu Pulse of Japan 3-2 in the second semifinal.

Shabab and Esteghlal were tied 1-1 at the interval, both goals coming through penalties. Saeed Al-Owairan put the Saudis ahead in the 16th minute before Muhammad Navazi Mehrabani scored from the spot in the 27th minute to restore parity.

Abdullah Al-Shihan again put Shabab ahead in the 57th minute only to see Ahmad Momenzadeh draw level four minutes later. However, international Khaled Al-Dosary netted the winner for Shabab in the 87th minute.

For Dalian, Orlando da Silva 17, 59 and Hai Haidong 109 were the scorers while Pulse’s goals were scored by Teruyoshi Ito 19 and Daisuke Ichikawa 57.