AFC Cup action heats up

By Khalil Hareb in Amman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-04-10

[MOHAMMED MAHJOUB/AFP/Getty Images] Jordanian Wehdat's Abdellatif al-Bahdari (L) challenges Omani Nahda's Salim al-Shamsi.

The AFC Cup 2010 was once again the talk of the Arab world this week, as Arab clubs fought to be one of the final 16. Things look positive for some squads, but other sides took a nose dive.

On Tuesday (April 6th) Helal Sahely, the Yemeni giant, was in India to face Churchill Brothers SC. However, they lost 1-0 to the Indian squad. The Lebanese team Nejmeh secured a home victory against Ittihad of Aleppo 1-0. Abbas Ahmed Atwi scored the match's only goal seven minutes in. East Bengal faced off against Qadsia in Kuwait and lost 4-1.The first half was enough to decide the match, as Qadsia led 3-0 at the break. The visitors scored their only goal in second half.

As AFC matches continued on Wednesday (April 7th), Syria's Jaish took on the Lebanese side Ahed in a high scoring match in which nine goals were scored. The Syrians managed to end the first half 4-0, but the Lebanese came back looking to save face and scored three goals. However, the home team managed to score two more goals to end the match with a 6-3 win.

On the same day, Jordanians clashed with Omanis in two important matches. In Jordan, Shabab Ordon secured three points by defeating Omani giant Saham 3-1. Shabab Ordon needed only three minutes to score and was two goals ahead by the eighth minute. The second half was mostly spent defending and playing midfield. Jordan's Wihdat beat Oman's Nahda 3-1. The Omani hosts scored first, but lost the lead a minute later when Whidat scored. The Jordanians then scored another two goals to secure the victory.

In other Wednesday AFC action, Qatar's Rayyan won an away match, defeating Bahraini outfit Riffa 4-1. The Kuwaiti team Kazma failed to secure a home victory and tied with Uzbekistan's Nasaf Qarshi 0-0. Round 5 of the AFC Cup will be played April 20-21.

In Egyptian football, both Zamalek and Ahly wasted two points after drawing in premier league action on Wednesday. Zamalek was held to a 1-1 draw by Shorta. The match was as tense as it could be, as Hazim Imam was sent off by the referee. The red card set the audience on fire, and the match was stopped for seven minutes. Shorta was set to win, leading for most of the match, but a late goal by Shikabala secured Zamalek a point. The White Knights are now in second place with 47 points, six points behind first-place Ahly, who was also held to a 1-1 draw against Mokawloon Al Arab.

Handball

In Kuwait handball action on Wednesday, Nasar managed to secure a 24-22 victory over Khaitan. Fehaheel defeated Sahel 26-16. On Thursday, Ttdamon took on Kazma in a clash where both sides showed equal strength, but Ttadamon grabbed a win, 37-35. Salibikhaet lost 29-21 to Arabi.

Beach Soccer

The second Arab Beach Soccer Championship kicked up sand in Saudi Arabia. The final match-up on Thursday saw the Saudis stage a comeback, clawing back from three goals down to win 6-4 against the UAE. The Saudis were crowned with the gold, leaving the silver to the UAE team, and the bronze to third place Bahrain.

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