DUBAI — Al-Shabab Club of Saudi Arabia consolidated its position on top of Group A by beating Tractorsazi Tabriz of Iran 1-0 at Tabriz Wednesday. With this win Al-Shabab swelled its lead on top to 10 points, running away from other teams in the group. Vegalta Sendai of Japan and Buriram United of Thailand are in second place with five points each. Jiangsu Sainty of China stays third with 4 points. Earlier, Japan's Vegalta Sendai stunned FC Seoul with its first ever AFC Champions League victory Tuesday as it ignited its hopes of reaching the knockout phase on debut. Former Japan international Atsushi Yanagisawa headed the game's only goal on 16 minutes as Sendai prevented Seoul's early qualification and rose to within two points of the Group E leader with two games to go. “It was a historic day as we won a game in Asia. I feel like we can move up (to the knock-out round),” said Sendai's jubilant coach Makoto Teguramori. But Sendai's heroics were matched by Thailand's Buriram United, which drew level with the Japanese team on points as it upset China's Jiangsu Sainty 2-0 at its rocking home stadium. Elsewhere, J-League champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima earned its first point in a 1-1 draw with Pohang Steelers, saving itself from an early exit. Also in Group G, Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor beat Beijing Guoan 1-0 to go two points clear. In other matches, Al-Gharafa of Qatar thrashed Al-Nasr of the UAE 3-1 in Group C and Al-Jazira of the UAE and El Jaish of Qatar drew 1-1 in Group A. At Sendai Stadium, the host's Brazilian striker Wilson hit the bar in the eighth minute but it was Yanagisawa who sent the home fans into ecstasy when he headed in from a Ryang Yong-Gi corner. Seoul came close to the equalizer in the second half when Dejan Damjanovic struck the bar, while Mauricio Molina's shot was saved and Kim Ju-Young's header went wide. In Buriram, backed by its noisy home fans, the host took the lead in the first half through Suchao Nutnum, and Charyl Chappuis fired the second on the hour-mark when he stretched to meet a ball behind the defense from Kai Hirano. But the Swiss-born player's joy was tempered when he injured his right knee during his celebration and had to be stretchered from the pitch. In Group G, Naoki Ishihara sparked hopes of a Sanfrecce win when he scored on 62 minutes, but the lead was quickly snuffed out by Hwang Jin-Sung's tap-in for Pohang five minutes later. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's Ettifaq thumped Al-Shabab Al-Arabi of UAE 4-1 to keep its last 16 hopes alive as it closed to three points behind Pakhtakor. The top two from eight four-team groups will make up next month's last 16, played over two legs home and away. The competition then takes a break to avoid the harsh Middle East summer, before resuming for the quarterfinals in August. — Agencies
