Hilal and Al-Ittihad participating in the AFC Champions League 2010 won over their UAE opponents Al-Ahli and Al-Wehdah Tuesday. In Group D, Hilal defeated its host Al-Ahli 3-2 at Rashed Stadium in Dubai While Ittihad thrashed its guest Wehdah 4-0 in Group B. A late goal by Korean defender Lee Young gave Hilal the victory over Al-Ahli. The two teams had earlier shared points of their Riyadh encounter 1-1. Striker Yasser Al-Qahtani put Hilal in the lead before Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson increased the score six minutes later. However, Ahli striker Ahmed Khaleel reduced the margin three minutes before the break. The Brazilian midfielder Calderon de Souza leveled for the home team midway through the second half, but Young of Hilal clinched the match in the first minute of stoppage time. The win solidified the position of Hilal on top of Group D with 10 points; four points ahead of Al-Sadd of Qatar and Mes Kerman of Iran which stand second and third respectively. On the other hand, Ahli seems to be out of reckoning with its single point. In the other match, Ittihad blanked Al-Wehdah to jump to the second place of Group B with seven points; three points behind group leader Zobahan of Iran. Algerian striker Abdul-Malik Ziaya put his team in the lead in the 12th minute before midfielder Saud Kariri scored twice in the 16th and 19th minutes. Striker Sultan Al-Numari sealed his team's win with a stunning backward-kick. Ittihad performed well and dominated the first half to score its four goals. The absence of some key players of Wehdah obviously affected the team. The referee has also contributed to the failure of Wehdah through ignoring a penalty kick for the visitors in the 48th minute when Numari of Ittihad brought striker Ahmed Al-Abri down in the box. But the Thai referee, Mohammed Saba gave the guest team a foul kick. Ittihad had earlier won over Al-Wehdah 2-0 in an away match at Aal-Nahayan Stadium. Elsewhere, Japanese heavyweights Kashima Antlers powered into the last 16 for the third year in a row and were joined by Korea's Jeonbuk Motors. The J-League leaders trampled Indonesian minnows Persipura Jayapura 3-1 in Jakarta to leave them unbeaten after four games and on top of Group F. Jeonbuk Motors also went through from the group after grinding out a 1-0 home win over China's Changchun Yatai. It leaves them on nine points, six ahead of Changchun in third with two games remaining but with a superior head-to-head record. In Group H, Adelaide United could have sealed a knockout-stage spot with a win over Japanese strugglers Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but it failed to take the chance, forced onto the back foot for much of the game in a 1-0 defeat. It leaves Adelaide on nine points, level with defending champions Pohang Steelers of South Korea who needed an 84th minute goal from Kim Tae-Su to secure a 2-1 victory over China's Shandong Luneng. Former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari's Bunyodkor slumped to defeat against Group B leader Zobahan, with Brazilian veteran Rivaldo sent off. The Uzbek champions were beaten 3-0 by Zobahan last week and crashed 1-0 Tuesday with Mohamad Reza Khalatbari getting the winner on the half hour mark. Al Sadd of Qatar remained in second despite going down 3-1 to Mes Kerman, which also has six points in third on goal difference. __
