Ahli Club Jeddah jumped to the top of Group C of the Asian Champions League with seven points after winning against Al-Nasr of UAE, 3-1, at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. The authoritative victory over Nasr gave Ahli fans something to cheer after losing the Saudi Professional League title to Shabab after the 1-1 draw early this week. It will serve as a big morale-booster and motivate the club to retain the upcoming Kings Cup. Ahli fans surprised their players by trooping to the stadium from early hours to back their team in this crucial Asian encounter. The fans also urged players through the team's official website and through posters inside the stadium to forget about the league result. Ahli missed its striker Emad Al-Hosani due to injury. After several attempts, Ahli suffered a major blow when Nasr took the lead in the 33rd minute off a fine header by Amara Diane. However, Ahli striker Victor scored in the 37th minute only to be ruled offside, ending the first half 1-0 in favor of Nasr. Ahli tilted the scales in its favor in the second half when Abdul Raheem Al-Jizawi equalized in the 55th minute. The goal inspired the Ahli players and Victor wrested the lead for the local team in the 66th minute through a fine header. Ahli defender Kamel Al-Mosa completed the tally in the 73rd minute to put Ahli firmly on top. Sepahan of Iran, which lost 1-0 to Lekwia of Qatar, also has seven points in the group but stays second on goal difference. Lekhwia is third with six points and Nasr fourth with four points. Elsewhere, Adelaide United's Bruce Djite scored a last-minute winner to give his side a 1-0 win over Korean outfit Pohang Steelers in Group E. Djite's sensational 90th minute header at Hindmarsh Stadium sent Adelaide to the top of Group E and means it will almost certainly progress to the next stage of the league. The match seemed destined for a draw when Brazilian midfielder Cassio sent in a cross and Djite launched himself into the air to head the ball into the corner of the net. The South Koreans came close to scoring in the first half but were denied by a brilliant save from goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic. Steelers striker Byung Jun was unmarked just metres from goal and his powerful header seemed certain to find its mark – but Galekovic flung himself to his right and thrust out a hand to stop it. In other matches, Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan beat Gamba Osaka 3-2, Nagoya Grampus of Japan and Tianjin Teda of China drew goalless, Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea routed Central Coast Mariners of Australia 5-0, Al-Rayyan of Qatar downed Nasaf of Uzbekistan and Esteghlan of Iran drew with Al-Jazira of UAE 1-1. Reading earns promotion Reading capped a remarkable run of form by securing promotion back to the Premier League Tuesday after a 1-0 victory at home to Nottingham Forest guaranteed a top-two finish in the Championship (second division). Reading, which has taken 46 points from a possible 51 over its last 17 games, returns to the top-flight four seasons after losing its place in 2008. __
