Sport | Football
Saipa head into quarterfinals after draw
Issa Traore scored midway through the first half and Saipa drew 1-1 with Al Wasl on Wednesday, confirming the Iranian club's place in the Asian Champions League quarterfinals.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:19 May 23, 2008
- Sepahan 1 Kuruvchi FC 1
- Al Ittihad 3 Al Ittihad 0
- Al Wasl 1 Saipa 1
- Kuwait SC 1 Al Quwa 2
- Al Sadd 0 Al Wahda 0
- Al Karama 0 Al Ahli 0
- Pakhtakor 2 Al Gharafa 0
- Arbil 4 Al Qadsia 2
- Pohang 0 Binh Duong 0
- Krung 5 Beijing Guoan 3
- Nam Dinh 0 Kashima 4
- Melbourne 3 Chonburi FC 1
- Gamba Osaka 1 Chunnam 1
Dubai; Singapore: Issa Traore scored midway through the first half and Saipa drew 1-1 with Al Wasl on Wednesday, confirming the Iranian club's place in the Asian Champions League quarterfinals.
With its place already secure before the match, Saipa rested several of its key players but still finished with 12 points atop Group B, four ahead of Al Quwa Al Jawiya of Iraq, which beat Al Kuwait 2-1 in its final match.
Traore outpaced the defence and lobbed advancing Wasl goalkeeper Majed Naser Maqdami to score.
Al Wasl equalised when Brazilian striker Andre Dias scored in injury time.
Japan will have three teams in the quarters after the Kashima Antlers thumped Nam Dinh 4-0, but arch-rivals China are in danger of having none.
While Kashima cruised in Hanoi, Beijing Guoan crashed 5-3 to Krung Thai Bank in Bangkok, meaning the J-league outfit top Group F with 15 points, three ahead of Guoan. With Gamba Osaka safely through and the Urawa Reds qualifying automatically as defending champions, Japan is the country to beat.
Three other teams are into the knockout rounds of Asia's premier club competition - Uzbeki side Kuruvchi FC, Saipa of Iran, and Kuwait's Al Qadsia.
China's last hope, Changchun Yatai, play Adelaide United in a match postponed due to a three-day period of mourning for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.
Changchun are placed second with 11 points, two less than Adelaide, and need to beat their Australian rivals to qualify.
A minute's silence was observed before every match in memory of the quake victims and the cyclone casualties in Myanmar, but when the game got underway in Hanoi, it was all Kashima.
Their opening goal arrived in the 27th minute when a lofted pass from Mitsuo Ogasawara found Yuzo Tashiro, who slid a shot under the goalkeeper.
Shinzo Koroki made it 2-0 three minutes into the second period, and Kashima put the result beyond doubt with 15 minutes remaining when Masashi Motoyama stabbed home from close range.
Substitute Danilo finished it off with two minutes remaining.
In other matches, Melbourne Victory ended their campaign on a winning note by beating Thailand's Chonburi FC 3-1.
Al Wahda's outside chances of making the last eight did not materialise as they could only manage a 0-0 draw at Qatari side Al Sadd.
Results
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
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