Hilal's hopes to reach the AFC Champions League quarterfinals ended on Wednesday after a 4-3 defeat on penalties from Umm Salal of Qatar at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. The defeat was a big shock for the Riyadh giant which officially announced a two-year contract with the outgoing Marseille coach Eric Gerets who was supposed to take over the team in the remaining matches of the competition. Al-Hilal's first real attack came after 31minutes when a header from Osama Hawsawi was just few inches of the left post of Baba Malick. Umm Salal's striker Magno Alves was battling alone as Bahrani Alaa Hubail missed the game due to injury during training. Al-Hilal coach Abdul Latif Al-Hussaini pepped up his squad after the break but Umm Salal's solid defenders blocked all attempts. After a goalless extra first half, Mohammed Al-Shalhoub almost put Al-Hilal ahead on a solo inside the box but his shot just missed the target. In penalty shootout, Umm Salal goalkeeper Baba Malick saved Tariq Al-Taib and Mohammed Al-Shalhoub's attempts to steer his side to the quarterfinals. Bin Askar Aziz, meanwhile, missed one shot from the visitors. On Wednesday, Al-Ittihad hosts Al-Shabab in the last 16 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah while Al-Ittifaq plays Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor in Dammam. Qatar beats Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia lost 2-1 against Qatar on Wednesday in a friendly match as part of the two sides preparations for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers which kick off on June 10. At the Jassem Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Taisser Al-Jassem put the Saudis ahead in the 46th minute from a free kick. Ali Afif scored the equalizer 20 minutes after the break from the spot before Majed Mohammed sealed the win for Qatar in the 87th minute. Saudi Arabia concludes its preparations with another match against China in Beijing on June 4, six days before the team plays South Korea. Saudi Arabia is third in Group B on 10 points, only one point behind leader South Korea while North Korea comes second ahead on goal difference. __
