JEDDAH — Two-time AFC Champions League winners Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia secured a return to the group stage of the AFC Champions League after recording a 2-1 comeback win over Jordan’s Al Wehdat on Tuesday at King Abdullah Sports City.
An own goal from Ahmed Asiri had handed Al Wehdat a surprise 11th minute lead in front of an expectant crowd in Jeddah after a header from Senegalese striker El Hadji Malik Tall had hit the post and rebounded into the unfortunate defender.
But after Venezuelan striker Gelmin Rivas equalised for 2004 and 2005 ACL winners Al Ittihad six minutes later, Mukhtar Fallatah’s penalty on the stroke of half-time secured the home side a place in Group A alongside Iran’s Foolad Sepahan, Al Nasr of the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv.
Al Wehdat, meanwhile, will take their place in Group A of the AFC Cup with Lebanon’s Al Ahed, Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr and Bahrain’s Al Hidd, who earlier recorded a 2-0 win over Pakistan’s K-Electric.
Al Wehdat took a somewhat surprise lead after just 11 minutes as Malik Tall’s backpost header struck the inside of the upright before an unfortunate Asiri bundled the ball over his own goalline.
But the lead lasted just six minutes as Rivas out-jumped defender Mohammad Al Dmeiri to meet Majed Al Khaibari’s cross on the edge of the six-yard area and the Venezuelan striker directed a towering header back across goal and into the far corner with Al Wehdat goalkeeper Amer Shafi rooted to the spot.
And in the last minute of the first half Al Ittihad completed the comeback as Baha Faisal blocked Sulley Muntari’s cross from a short corner with a raised arm inside the area and Fallatah converted, despite Al Wehdat goalkeeper Shafi managing to make contact with the ball as striker lifted the resulting penalty down the middle of the goal.
In other games it was: Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan) 2, Al-Shabab Al-Arabi (UAE) 0; Naft Tehran (Iran) 0, Al-Jaish (Qatar) 2; Shanghai SIPG (China) 3, Muangthong United (Thailand) 0.
