Ittihad's captain Mohammed Noor steered his team to a 6-2 victory over Nagoya Grampus Eight of Japan in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semifinals here Wednesday. At the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, ace Noor scored a hat rick to seal the win in the first ever encounter between Saudis and their Japanese rivals in the competition. Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, Chairman of Saudi Arabian Football Federation attended the match and congratulated the Tigers for the great win. In the other semifinal in Pohang, South Korea, Pohang Steelers took a big step toward a third Asian continental title with a 2-0 win over Qatar's Umm Salal. Nagoya Grampus played with 10 men for most of the match after defender Akira Takeuchi was red carded in the sixth minute for a harsh challenge. Nagoya which is ninth in J-league, took the upper hand after 15 minutes when the 193cm-tall Australian professional Joshua Blake Kennedy headed in a cross into the left side of Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Za'id. Omani Ahmed Hadeed, who missed his quarterfinals against Pakhtakor, leveled the score just ten minutes later but the Japanese regained the lead before the break through Naoshi Nakamura. Noor turned the tables on the Japanese by scoring two goals. After Luciano Leguizamon made it 4-2 by converting a penalty Noor completed his hat trick. Hertha Berlin's former striker Tunisian Amine Chermiti then completed the rout. Now, Al-Ittihad, 2004 and 2005 AFC Champions League winner, will travel next week to Japan to play the second leg match on Oct. 28. Nagoya which missed a couple of its players due to swine flu and injury a few weeks ahead of the game, was better in the early minutes especially after taking the lead through Kennedy. Al-Ittihad refused to give up and created some chances until Hadeed fired home from close range in the 25th minute. But defender Saleh Al-Saqri made a vital mistake inside by giving space and time for Nakamura to score in the 34th minute. After the break, Al-Ittihad coach Calderon replaced defender Obaid Al-Shamarani with striker Luciano Leguizamon, who created some gaps in the Japanese defense. The Tigers waited until 66th minute to see their captain Noor scoring the equalizer with a powerful header. Ten minutes later, Noor blasted in a rebound from Nagoya defenders to make it 3-2. In the 83rd minute, Luciano converted a penalty. Noor dazzled again in the 91st minute with another header, a goal that made Al-Ittihad supporters feel proud not only of their team but also of the man of the match Noor. In the last minute of the match, Charmiti received a long pass from Luciano to seal the win. In Pohang, captain Hwang Jae-won gave the hosts the lead just before halftime and Kim Jae-sung extended Pohang's advantage ten minutes from the end. It was a deserved result for the K-League team – which won the Asian crown in 1997 and 1998 – which was forced to work hard to create opportunities against an opponent that defended in numbers. Pohang dominated from the kickoff, spurning a good chance in the first minute before Brazilian striker Denilson hit the crossbar in the third. Umm Salal's Brazilian striker Davi had a good one-on-one opportunity blocked in the sixth minute but it was a rare foray forward for a team looking to become only the second Qatar club to take the Asian club title after Al Sadd in 1989. Macedonia international striker Stevica Rastic headed narrowly wide in the 34th minute and hit the bar with another header in the 42nd. It looked as if Pohang would receive no reward for its first-half dominance until Hwang leapt unmarked at the near post to head in a corner just seconds from the interval. The pattern of play continued in the second half as the Steelers regularly probed the Umm Salal defense but struggled to break down determined resistance and create clear chances. Pohang finally broke through for a second goal as Song Chong-ho crossed to an unmarked Kim, whose leaping, powerful header went into the top left corner. The hosts almost grabbed a third goal in the dying seconds as Choi Hyo-jin fired into the side netting from close range. The second leg takes place next Wednesday in Qatar with the final held in Tokyo on Nov. 7. __
