DUBAI — Dubai's Al-Ahli and China's Guangzhou Evergrande drew 0-0 in the first-leg of the Asian Champions League (ACL) final Saturday in a fractured encounter of few chances at the Rashid Stadium.
Ahli was second-best for long periods and will probably be happy to head to the Far East without having conceded an away goal, especially after full back Abdulaziz Haikal was sent off for a slap on the subsitute Gao Lin in the 84th minute.
Guangzhou's Brazilian midfielder Paulinho twice went close with long-range efforts in the first half and Huang Bowen rattled the underside of the bar with a rasping drive from inside the area shortly after the interval, while winger Ismail al-Hammadi was Ahli's most potent threat.
"We didn't play well tonight," said Guangzhou coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "Tonight was a fair result because I didn't see our team create a lot of chances during the match."
The Chinese will now be favorites to secure their second Asian title in three years in the second leg on Nov. 21. "The only positive thing was that we didn't concede a goal; the target wasn't this but at least we have a starting point for the second game," Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu told reporters.
"We started the game with a lot of stress, a lot of pressure. This is the first time they played in the final of such a great competition. We didn't play the way we wanted." Guangzhou - unbeaten since May and with a fifth straight Chinese title secured last week - steadily seized control against a Dubai team who had never gone beyond the ACL group stages.
After six minutes, Paulinho unleashed a 25-yard effort that flew narrowly over the bar. He again went close in the 18th after a neat lay-off allowed the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder to strike a 20-yard daisy-cutter that missed the post by inches as Guangzhou's 900 supporters mistakenly celebrated.
Olaroiu grew more agitated on the sidelines, with Ahli's rare moments of menace mostly coming from long throw-ins as the attacking trident of Everton Ribeiro, Rodrigo Lima and Ahmed Khalil toiled.
Then after 33 minutes, Ribeiro created Ahli's best moment of the first-half, his raking through ball releasing Hammadi on the left. The winger surged forward and cut inside before unleashing a 20-yard drive that goalkeeper Zeng Cheng parried wide.
Early in the second period, Huang's effort rebounded off the crossbar to safety to the relief of most of the 9,480-crowd and that proved to be a rare moment of quality as both teams opted for safety-first football.
Substitute Yu Hanchao's sweetly struck half-volley from near the penalty spot forced Ahmed Dida into a sprawling save after 69 minutes before Haikal's sending off sparked a frantic finale. — Reuters
