JEDDAH — In a tightly-contested match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Monday, Al Ittihad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Air Force Club in Group C of the AFC Champions League 2023/24. The game remained deadlocked for the majority of the match, but Abderrazak Hamdallah's late goal secured the crucial three points for the Jeddah-based side. Throughout the match, chances were abundant for Nuno Espirito Santo's men, but a combination of missed opportunities and resilient defending from Ayoub Odisho's players kept the scores level for 94 minutes. Finally, Hamdallah's decisive goal in stoppage time sealed the win for Al Ittihad. The home side displayed relentless pressure from the start, with an early opportunity in the seventh minute when Jota's corner found Romarinho, only for the far post to deny him as the rebound went unclaimed by the rest of the team. Shortly after, Saleh Al Amri thought he had broken the deadlock, but an offside call nullified the goal as Jota had strayed offside during the buildup. In the first half, Al Amri missed a golden chance when Jota's cross found him less than six yards away, but his shot hit straight into the goalkeeper's body. As the first half concluded, Romarinho's attempt from close range was thwarted by the Iraqi goalkeeper, maintaining the stalemate. In the final 20 minutes, Abdullah Al Muaiouf was called into action when Ibrahim Bayesh's powerful shot from outside the area forced a diving save. Romarinho faced further frustration as his direct free-kick hit the crossbar before being cleared by defenders after Hamdallah was fouled just outside the area. Deep into stoppage time, N'golo Kante's precise cross found Hamdallah, who capitalized on defensive lapses to secure the late winner. The two teams are set to face each other again in two weeks at Erbil's Franso Hariri Stadium in Matchday Four.
