Ittihad stayed on course for semifinal berth in the Asian Champions League after defeating visitor FC Seoul of South Korea 3-1 in a quarterfinals match at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium Wednesday. Ittihad skipper Mohammed Noor put the Saudi side in the lead a minute before the break. Defender Osama Al-Muallad increased the lead in the 75th minute. After seven minutes, Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic of FC Seoul made it 2-1. But, a minute into injury time, Brazilian left winger of Ittihad, Geraldo Wendel, sealed the Tigers' win. The teams will meet again on Sept. 27. From the very beginning, Ittihad took control of the match and attacked from all sides. On the other hand, the Korean players were keen to defend which gave Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Za'id an easy time in the first half. Six minutes later, muscle injury forced midfielder, Paulo Jorge to leave the field and Mohammed Bosaba'an took his place. Hazzazi broke the dour defense of Koreans when his powerful header hit the cross bar in the 42nd minute. Two minutes later, Ittihad right defender, Rashid Al-Raheeb crossed the ball into the area where Hazzazi cracked toward the goal. However, Korean goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae failed to control the ball and Noor nudged the ball into the goal. In the 75th minute, defender Osama Al-Muallad's free kick from about 25 yards straight landed into the goal. Soon Colombian midfielder, Mauricio Molina, of FC Seoul beat an offside trap to pave the way for his Montenegrin teammate striker, Dejan Damjanovic, who reduced the margin. Wendel then sealed the Tigers' win. Elsewhere, a late winner from midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake gave Cerezo Osaka a 4-3 win over South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors. The 21-year-old netted a brace as Cerezo, who stormed back to record an extraordinary 5-4 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League Saturday, came from behind three times to beat Jeonbuk in a thrilling game in Osaka. In South Korea, Suwon Bluewings, who dumped Japanese champions Nagoya Grampus out in the round of 16, were held to a 1-1 draw by Zobahan of Iran, the surprise finalists in last year's competition. The last quarter between Sepahan, also from Iran, and the Qatari club Al-Sadd saw Sepahan edging the first leg in Fooladshahr 1-0, Omid Ebrahimi producing the decisive goal in the 12th minute. __
