0 By Naif Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Al-Ahli Club Jeddah secured an important win against Lekhwia of Qatar 3-0 in the second leg match in Group C of the AFC Champions League at Prince Abdullah AL-Faisal Stadium here Tuesday. Ahli is now on top of the group with 10 points, equal with Sepahan of Iran which blanked Al-Nasr of the UAE 3-0. With today's wins, Ahli and Sepahan have officially qualified to the round of 16 and the last match between the two teams will only determine the ranking of the group. Abdul Raheem Jizawi put Ahli ahead in the 9th minute by blasting home from inside the penalty box. Victor increased the tally in the 61st minute. After receiving a fine pass inside the penalty box he cooly put the ball in the back of the net. Star midfielder Tayseer Al-Jassem then sealed Ahli win by firing home from inside the penalty box. At Tehran, Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi's 59th-minute goal gave Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia a 1-0 win over Piroozi that took it above its opponent at the top of Group D and within a point of a fifth consecutive appearance in the knockout stage. El Arabi finished off a counterattack by slotting the ball past goalkeeper Asmir Avdukic. “We could have scored more goals,” Al-Hilal coach Hasek said. “Nothing is finished now because Piroozi still have the chance to lead the group again, so we have to wait for the final match day and see what happens at the end.” Al-Hilal could have advanced if Qatar's Al-Gharafa lost or drew against Al-Shabab of the United Arab Emirates in the other group match. Instead, Al-Gharafa came from a goal down to beat Al-Shabab 2-1 and move within two points of Piroozi with one round remaining in the group stage. Al-Shabab led when Essa Mohammed scored in the 65th minute. But Aruna Dindane leveled for Al Gharafa in the 81st and teammate Othman al-Assas scored the winner three minutes later. Elsewhere, two stoppage-time goals by Lee Dong-gook gave Jeonbuk Motors a 3-1 win at China's Guangzhou Evergrande, giving the South Korean team a place in the last 16. Jeonbuk, runner-up last season, moved to the top of Group H with the dramatic victory while Guangzhou's chances of progressing will go down to the final matchday when it is away to Thailand's Buriram United. Buriram lost 1-0 at Japan's Kashiwa Reysol but can still progress to the last round if results go its way on the final day. After five games, Jeonbuk – which hosts Kashiwa in its final game – has nine points, Kashiwa and Guangzhou have seven each and Buriram six. Meanwhile in Group G, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma was held to 1-1 at home by Japan's Nagoya Grampus, leaving both teams on seven points. They are a point ahead of Australia's Central Coast Mariners, which had a 5-1 win over Tianjin Teda, eliminating the Chinese club from contention for the next round. On the final match day, Central Coast is away to Nagoya while Tianjin hosts Seongnam. Al-Fateh in semis In the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, Al-Fateh secured a 3-2 win against Ittifaq to qualify to the semifinals and face Nasr. Al-Fateh also won the first leg match 2
