RIYADH: Al-Ittihad were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Navbahor in the first leg of their second-round clash in the Asian Champions League on Thursday.
While the Saudi Arabian visitors will leave Uzbekistan disappointed by their failure to break the deadlock in the face of a dogged performance from the Central Asian hosts, there is all to play for in next week’s second half when there is a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
In front of a sell-out 22,000 crowd at the Markaziy Stadium in the eastern city of Namangan, the visitors dominated possession before the break with Navbahor happy to sit back and try to hit on the counter.
Abderrazak Hamadallah came the closest in the first half after just five minutes on the clock. Fawaz Al-Yami pulled the ball back from the right and there was the Moroccan turning near the penalty spot to direct a shot that came back off the post with the goalkeeper nowhere.
It didn’t signal the start of an onslaught in what turned out to be a difficult 45 minutes for the Saudi Arabian side.
It was more of the same after the break though the hosts showed a little more attacking ambition and actually started to threaten the Al-Ittihad goal. Just before the hour, Jamshid Iskanderov had a shot blocked from a good position inside the area.
On the hour, Ittihad’s central defender Ahmed Hegazi headed a corner just a little high and wide as the two-time champions attempted to break the deadlock.
With 15 minutes remaining, Abdullah Al-Mayouf had a rare save to make from a bouncing shot from outside the area but soon after Hamdallah came close again.
Substitute Ahmed Al Ghamdi rolled the ball across the edge of the six yard box from the left and it looked like the Moroccan marksman couldn’t miss but, somehow, the ball ended up over the bar, though Hamdallah claimed that a defender had made a crucial intervention to clear the danger.
That was to be as close as anyone came to getting on the scoresheet and Ittihad will look back on a game that they controlled, but one in which they couldn’t make their superiority count.
The second leg takes place in Jeddah next Thursday.
Ittihad start Asian knockout stage with goalless stalemate
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Ittihad start Asian knockout stage with goalless stalemate
- Abderrazak Hamadallah came the closest in the first half after just five minutes on the clock
- Just before the hour, Jamshid Iskanderov had a shot blocked from a good position inside the area
Nunez double seals win as Al-Hilal finish AFC Champions League Elite group stage atop the table
- Reigning champions Al-Ahli take second spot in the West Region rankings with dramatic 4-3 win over Emirati side Shabab Al-Ahli
- The other Saudi contenders, Al-Ittihad, wrap up the group stage with a visit to Al-Sadd of Qatar on Tuesday, having already guaranteed qualification for the Round of 16
DUBAI: Al-Hilal concluded the group stage of the AFC Champions League Elite with a 2-1 home win over Al-Wahda of Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The Riyadh side finished top of the 12-team West Region table on 22 points from eight games, five clear of their closest challengers, Saudi Pro League rivals Al-Ahli. Both clubs progress to the Round of 16, which will played over two legs early next month.
Darwin Nunez gave the home team the lead after 19 minutes with a firm header from a Reuben Neves cross, but Brahim Diarra’s equalizer on 32 minutes meant the teams went into the break on level terms.
Al-Hilal were already guaranteed top place in the group regardless of the result but coach Simone Inzaghi signaled a desire to conclude the group stage in style with a victory as he made four substitutions in a second half during which for long spells his team struggled to break down the visitors from the UAE.
The winner finally came after 77 minutes when Nunez converted substitute Sultan Mandash’s low cross from close range to claim his second of the night.
Earlier, reigning champions Al-Ahli claimed a dramatic 4-3 home win over Emirati club Shabab Al-Ahli to all-but ensure second place in the group table.
The Jeddah side seemed to be coasting to a comfortable victory as they built a 3-0 half-time lead thanks to a Feras Al-Buraikan strike after 12 minutes, a Bogdan Planic own goal in the 35th, and a goal from Enzo Millot in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Things got even better when Saleh Abu Al-Shamat added fourth from the penalty spot after 52 minutes.
That seemed to be that, but the visitors had other ideas and launched a most unlikely comeback courtesy of two strikes from Breno Cascardo, in the 66th and 78th minutes, and a stoppage-time goal by Mohammed Juma that tested the nerves of Al-Ahli’s fans in the closing moments of the match.
The visitors had barely any time to chase an equalizer, however, and the home team held on.
The Kingdom’s third representatives in the competition, reigning SPL champions Al-Ittihad, wrap up their group stage campaign with a visit to Al-Sadd of Qatar on Tuesday.
The Jeddah side are sitting in fifth place in the table on 12 points from seven matches, and cannot finish any lower than that but could end up as high as third place, depending on results tomorrow. The top eight teams qualify for the Round of 16, in which they will be joined by the top eight finishers from the East Region.
