It was curtains for the Saudi Arabian clubs in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday when Two-time winner Al-Ittihad was blanked 2-0 by Kuruvchi of Uzbekistan at the MHSK Stadium in Tashkent and Al-Ahli Jeddah remained winless in the championship with a 2-2 with Al-Sadd of Qatar at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. A fighting Al-Sadd came from behind twice to draw against the ten-man Al-Ahli. Hussain Abdul Ghani gave the Saudis the lead before Mohammed Gholam drew level from the spot. Abdul Ghani regained the lead again from a penalty shot but the Qataris equalized through Yousif Ahmed in the second half. In Tashkent two first half goals sealed the win and the quarterfinal berth for the Uzbeks who recorded four straight wins after a 1-0 loss in the opener against Al-Ittihad in Jeddah. Soliev Anvarjon gave the home side an early lead as he scored shortly after the kickoff. Eight minutes from the break, Server Djeparov doubled the lead for Kuruvchi to end Al-Ittihad's race toward the quarterfinals. The win put Kuruvchi on the top of Group A with 12 points, six points ahead of Ittihad Jeddah. Al-Ahli, which was already out of the reckoning before this match, stayed in the bottom of Group C with three points, seven points away of group leader Syria's Al-Karama which had its first defeat against Al-Wehda of UAE, 1-0, in Abu-Dhabi. Al-Wehda stays second with eight points while Al-Sadd is third with five. Al-Ahli had the upper hand in the early minutes of the game and the team almost scored after five minutes when Ahmed Darwish blasted a long ball that was denied by Al-Sadd goalkeeper Mohammed Saqr. In the 28th minute, Al-Ahli took the lead when a cross by Hussain Abdul Ghani found the net of Mohammed Saqr. It took only four minutes from the Qataris to equalize when Mohammed Masad of Al-Ahli blocked the ball by hand inside the box to take a straight red card. Gholam converted the ball into the left side of Al-Ahli goalkeeper Abdo Bisisi. Despite being reduced to ten players, Al-Ahli recovered when Abdul Ghani made it 2-1 from the spot. After the break, Al-Sadd fought back and Yousif Ahmed scored the equalizer in the 50th minute. In the 73rd minute, Al-Ahli lost a golden chance to win the game when Abdul Ghani missed a penalty that was saved by Saqr. Al-Ahli will play its last in the championship against Al-Karama of Syria on May 21. Al-Ittihad was in a must-win situation to keep its hopes alive for joining the last eight. The Saudis were shocked ten minutes after the kickoff when Soliev Anvarjon completed Server Djeparov's ball into the net of Taiser Al-Netaif of Al-Ittihad. In the 38th minute, Djeparov headed the ball into the net of advancing Taiser to make it 2-0 for the home team. Al-Ittihad coach Argentinian Calderon made several changes in his squad aiming to draw level the game but the Uzbek goalkeeper stood firm against Al-Ittihad's attempts. Al-Ittihad will play its last match in the group against Al-Ittihad Aleppo at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on May 21. Japan's Gamba Osaka, Kuruvchi of Uzbekistan, Iran's Saipa and Kuwait's Al-Qadsia became the first four teams to reach the quarterfinals, while last year's runner-up, Sepahan, was eliminated. Gamba advanced with a 2-0 away win over Thailand's Chonburi. Saipa won the Group B title, beating Al-Kuwait SC 1-0 to give itself 11 points, five better than second-place Al-Wasl, which won away at Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2-1 to eliminate the Iraqi club. Al-Ittihad of Syria beat Sepahan 2-1. Al-Qadsia allowed a late goal and settled for a 2-2 draw at home against Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor. The quartet joins the defending champion Urawa Red Diamonds in the quarterfinals, with three berths yet to be decided. Adelaide United moved to the brink of the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over the Pohang Steelers of South Korea. Changchun Yatai of China beat Vietnam's Binh Duong 5-0. The Kashima Antlers routed Krung Thai Bank 8-1. Beijing Guoan won 3-0 over Nam Dimh. Kashima and Guoan remained tied atop the group with 12 points. In other matches, Chunnam Dragons drew 1-1 with Melbourne Victory and Arbil of Iraq beat Al-Gharafa of Qatar 1-0. __
