AFC Champions League picks up speed; Zamalek moves up

By Khalil Hareb in Amman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-13

[SALEM KHAMIS/AFP/Getty Images] Salem Khamis (R) of Emirati Al-Ahli vies with Mosaab al-Hassan of Qatar's Al-Sadd.

AFC Champions League 2010

The second round of the AFC Champions League 2010 got rolling this week as the clubs were scrambling to qualify for the finals.

On Tuesday (March 9th), Iran's Esteghlal Tehran took on UAE Jazira and failed to secure a win at home, finishing with a 0-0 draw. FC Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan stole a victory at Aal-Nahyan Stadium by beating home side UAE Wehda 2-1. In other matches, Qatar's Garrafa beat Saudi Ahli 3-2 in Qatar, and Iran's Zobahan stole a 2-2 draw in Saudi Arabia against Ittihad.

On Wednesday (March 10th) Saudi outfit Shabab earned three important points after beating Uzbekistan's PFC Pakhtakor Tashkent 3-1. UAE Ain drew with Iranian hosts Sepahan 0-0. Qatar's Sad smashed hosts UAE Ahli 5-0. Iran's Mes Kerman lost to Saudi Arabia's Hilal 3-1 in King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Round three will start March 23.

Egyptian Football

In other football action, Zamalek moved up to second place in the Egyptian Premier League after claiming a narrow 1-0 home victory over Gaish Thursday (March 11th), proving that the White Knights have what it takes to keep winning after their slow start in the beginning of the season. A second-half goal from defender Mahmoud Fathallah secured the victory. Zamalek's fortunes changed for the better after hiring Hossam Hassan as coach.

First-place Ahly secured three points by beating Masry 2-0 on Wednesday. The Red Devils had a hard time against Masry, who turned out to be a tough opponent, keeping the match scoreless until the last 10 minutes. Emad Moteab scored first for Ahly in the 82nd minute then Shehab Ahmed netted the ball in the 91st. Ahly now has 43 points as they coast along in first place, far ahead of Masry's 21 points and twelfth place on the table.

Kuwaiti Handball

Fehaheel leads the Kuwaiti Handball League with 18 points after beating Salmiyah 27-22 on Wednesday. Fahaheel took the advantage of the absence of some key Salmiyah players to win the hard-fought match. Salmiyah now has 13 points and is looking to upcoming matches for the points they need to catch up with Fahaheel. On the same day, Khaitan faced Shabab in a match where both teams played a very fast game. In the end the two teams were equal in all respects, including the score at 26-26.

Four other teams also faced each other in Kuwaiti handball on Thursday. Nasar secured a victory over Sahel 31-21. Nasar controlled most of the match, and were 10 goals clear. Qadsia failed to beat Arabi, losing 33-28.

Saudi Basketball

In Saudi hoops action, Ahli took home the gold in the Prince Faisal Basketball Cup after beating Ansar 91-69 in a lopsided match. Ahli came out fighting from the beginning of the game and ground down their opponents with a 22-point lead. In a game that was less of a rout, Hilal secured third place by beating Ittihad 77-64.

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