Hilal Club Riyadh and Al-Ittihad Club Jeddah remained on course in the group phase of the Asian Champions League Tuesday. While Al-Hilal scored an important 2-1 victory over Al-Shabab of UAE at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh and earned three vital points in Group D, Al-Ittihad held on for a 0-0 away draw with Baniyas of UAE in Group B in Abu Dhabi. Shabab took the lead in the 28th minute when Keiza fired in from inside the penalty box. Yousuf Al-Arabi of Hilal restored parity in the 45th minute. Al-Arabi again clinched the winner for Hilal in the 66th minute, giving the Riyadh side the first win in the group after three consecutive draws. South Korean club Ulsan Hyundai all but ended Brisbane's ACL campaign when it beat the Roar 2-1. Ulsan moved to eight points at the top of Group F with the win, while Brisbane is languishing at the bottom of the group on two points after two draws and two losses. Ulsan captain Kwak Tae-hwi scored a penalty with 18 minutes remaining to give the Korean club the edge after the teams had gone into the break locked at one goal apiece. The visitors had opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Colombian Juan Upegui dispossessed Mitch Nichols and fired home from just outside the box. The Roar dominated possession for much of the first half and equalized after 24 minutes through defender Shane Stefanutto, whose volleyed shot took a deflection off Kwak and crashed into the side netting. Both teams played some superb attacking football throughout and both had chances in the second period in a very even contest. But the Korean team held on to deny the host its first ever win in Asia. Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou conceded his team had to improve to compete at the top level. In other matches Guangzhou Evergrande of China thrashed Kashiwa Reysol of Japan 3-1; South Korean Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors beat Buriram United 3-2; FC Tokyo of Japan routed Beijing Guoan of China 3-0; and Piroozi of Iran drew with Al-Garrafa of Qatar 1-1 and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan downed Al-Arabi of Qatar 1-0.
