Ittihad and Al-Ahli suffered setbacks in the crucial AFC Champions League matches on Wednesday. While, Al-Ahli failed to renew its hopes to stay alive in the League after a 2-1 loss to Al-Wehda of the United Arab Emirates at Al-Nahayan Stadium in Abu-Dhabi, Al-Ittihad went down in a home clash when Sepahan of Iran recorded a 1-0 victory over the two-time winner at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Brazilian striker Josiel scored the two goals for Al-Wehda to seal an important victory for the UAE's side while the only goal for Al-Ahli was scored by defender Waleed Al-Jahdali late in the second half. The defeat ended the Saudi side's hopes in clinching the only ticket in Group C as Al-Ahli stays in the bottom of group with only two points. Al-Karama of Syria, which beat Al-Sadd of Qatar 1-0, perches on top with 10 points, followed by Al-Wehda (5 points). Al-Sadd has 4. Iraq international striker Emad Mohammed scored the only goal for Iranian league leader Sepahan about ten minutes from the game. Al-Ittihad with its second defeat in the competition is now in the second spot with the six points on goal difference with Sepahan. It stays three points away from the leader Kuruvchi of Uzbekistan, which won 1-0 over Ittihad Aleppo. Ittihad of Syria remains at the bottom with only 3 points. Calderon, new coach of Ittihad Jeddah, began the match with some new players who never played in a regional competition. The Argentinian took over the team just two days before the match following the dismissal of former Brazilian Estevam Soares. The first half was warm as both sides shared the possession without any threat on goals. Farshad Bahadorani nearly gave the visitors the lead six minutes before the break when his curling effort came back off the left post of Mabrouk Zaid. Al-Ittihad launched several attacks through substitutes Mohammed Ameen and Mohammed Labib who replaced Elhassan Keita and Brazilian Magno Alves. The young Iranian goalkeeper stood firm against Al-Ittihad attempts. In the 79th minute, striker Emad Mohammed received the ball from Seyed Mohammad Salehi and fired a first-time shot past goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid. Al-Ittihad travels next month to Uzbekistan to play the leader Kuruvchi in another crucial match while Ahli hosts Al-Sadd looking for a consolation victory. In other matches, China's Beijing Guoan renewed its chances of reaching the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Japan's Kashima Antlers on Wednesday, while Gamba Osaka and Al-Karama moved to the brink of advancing. Guoan climbed to nine points and equal with Kashima atop Group F with two games to play. Kashima retains the edge in the race for berth in the quarterfinals, thanks to a superior goal difference. Gamba beat Melbourne 2-0 to give it a five-point lead atop Group G and eliminate the Victory. Thailand's Chonburi needed an injury time equalizer to earn a 2-2 home draw against South Korea's Chunnam Dragons. Elsewhere, China's Changchun Yatai's quarterfinal ambitions took a blow when it conceded a late equalizer at South Korea's Pohang Steelers for a 2-2 draw in Group E, allowing Australia's Adelaide United to open a two-point lead with a 4-1 win over Vietnam's Binh Duong. Other results: Al-Qadisiya beat Al-Gharafa 1-0, Pakhtakor thrashed Iraq's Arbil 5-1, Saipa drew 1-1 with Iraq's Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Kuwait downed Al-Wasl of the UAE 2-1, Nam Dinh and Krung Thai Bank drew 2-2 in Group F. __
