Dubai: Al Hilal fought hard for a 1-1 draw against Al Ahli in their first leg semi-final of the AFC Champions League at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Brazilian Rodrigo Lima scored his third goal in as many matches for the Red Knights in the 57th minute, while the two-time former semi-finalists from Saudi Arabia managed the equaliser through Ailton in the 82nd minute.
Al Ahli will hold a slight edge due to the away goal when Al Hilal travel to Dubai for their second leg on October 20.
Playing on home turf, Al Hilal enjoyed a slight edge especially in the first half as the visitors battled hard to contain the movements of the two Brazilian attackers Ailton and Eduardo.
The first real chance from either side came from Al Hilal’s Ailton in the 23rd minute, but an alert Salmeen Khamis managed to deflect the ball out for a corner.
The Red Knights then had a narrow escape on 31 minutes when goalkeeper Dida failed to collect a cross from the right flank. But Salmeen Khamis was alert to make a timely clearance and avert any danger on the Al Ahli goal.
The best chance of the first half came in the 40th minute time when Ahmad Khalil’s sudden power-packed drive kissed the upright and went out of play.
The home team started the second half with an additional attacker with the hope of breaking the deadlock. But it was Al Ahli who took the lead when Lima headed in strongly off a Ribeiro free kick from the right flank.
Rattled by the goal, Al Hilal fought for every ball and had a golden chance for an equaliser in the 67th minute after the referee mistakenly pointed to the spot, ruling that Salmeen Khamis had handled the ball inside the area even though television replays clearly showed the ball was out of play.
However, justice prevailed when Eduardo’s penalty struck the framework and went out of play.
Al Hilal laboured on, and got their goal eight minutes from the end when an unmarked Ailton darted in to head past Dida.
Boosted by the strike, the home side went all out for a winner, as the visitors managed to thwart every attempt on goal.
In fact, it was Al Ahli who should have had a match-winner one minute from the final whistle but goalkeeper Khalid Sharahili twice denied Lima.