DUBAI — Emirati club Al-Shabab edged its Saudi Arabian rival Al-Ettifaq 1-0 on an entertaining evening in the AFC Champions League Wednesday.



Qatari Lekhwia is on top of the group with seven points followed by Pakhtakor with six, Shabab is third with three points and Ettifaq at the bottom with just one point.



Much of the first half was played in the midfield with the home team making the first serious attempt in the 34th minute through Uzbek midfielder Azizbek Hydarov. Ettifaq keeper did well to keep it out.



Zamil Al-Saleem led Ettifaq’s counter attack the very next minute as he ran through the Shabab defense, but failed to control the ball and hit wide off Shabab goalkeeper.



Nasser Masoud struck nine minutes from time to give Shabab its first points of the competition in their Group B match.



In other matches in the Middle East, Lekhwia of Qatar beat Pakhtakor Tashkent of Uzbekistan 3-1, while Al-Ain of the UAE edged Qatari club Al-Rayyan 2-1.



Earlier, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors buried Urawa Red Diamonds with a second-half treble and Kashiwa Reysol fired six past hapless Suwon Bluewings.



Jeonbuk took a beating from Urawa, its fellow former Asian champion, in the first 45 at Saitama. But the Reds were left to rue a hatful of missed chances when its Korean visitors struck three times in 20 minutes to win the Group F tie 3-1.



But Jeonbuk’s flurry of goals was eclipsed in Suwon, where the Korean host missed three penalties during a crazy encounter that featured seven second-half goals and ended 6-2 for Kashiwa, which extended its Group H lead.



Australia’s Central Coast Mariners kept their hopes alive despite a late own goal when it beat Guizhou Renhe 2-1 for its first win.



Marcello Lippi’s Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande blanked Muangthong United of Thailand 4-0.



Dario Conca scored twice, including a penalty in stoppage time, while Muriqui and Gao Lin also scored.



The win leaves Guangzhou two points clear of Jeonbuk as the Group Stage reaches the halfway point, with Urawa Reds in third with three points and Muangthong at the bottom of the group with just one point.



In the clash of Jeonbuk and Urawa, the winners in 2006 and 2007 respectively, the Japanese side got on the score sheet early when Genki Haraguchi, capitalizing on Tomoaki Makino’s mazy dribble into the box, belted them in front on six minutes.



Haraguchi should have doubled the lead five minutes later, and Brazilian Marcio Richardes rifled just wide and then hit the post, as the home team went on the rampage.



Yosuke Kashiwagi put it over the bar early in the second half, but Jeonbuk came roaring back when Lee Seung-gi buried a screaming strike, teed up on the edge of the box after a free-kick, on 51 minutes to level the scores at 1-1. Substitute striker Lee Dong-gook put the visitors ahead when he arrowed a diving header, from another free-kick, into the top of the Urawa goal.



Brazilian Eninho doused any hopes of a comeback with a magical effort with 20 minutes to go, when he spotted the Urawa keeper off his line and hit a swerving shot over him and into the goal from a distance. — Agencies