Ahli make history as they edge Ittihad

Al Ahli came back from a first-leg deficit to beat Al Ittihad 2-0 win and win 2-1 on aggregate over their cross-Jeddah rivals and book a place in the final of the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history on Wednesday. Al Ittihad, seeking a third Asian crown in eight years, held a slender one-goal advantage from the first leg nine days ago. However, goals from Moataz Al Muta and Victor Simoes in front of their own fans mean Al Ahli will travel to South Korea to face Ulsan Hyundai in the final on November 10. Ulsan had also reached their first ever AFC Champions League final earlier Wednesday in Korea after they weathered an early onslaught to beat Uzbek side Bunyodkor 2-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win. Al Ahli, backed by a packed house at the Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Stadium, were in the ascendancy right from the whistle and the biggest surprise was that Karel Jarolim's side took so long to open the scoring. Simoes hit the woodwork as early as the seventh minute with a vicious left foot shot while five minutes later the Brazilian fired another effort over the bar. Al Muta caused the Al Ittihad defence a host of problems with his runs from deep and Mabrouk Zaid was called upon to push his 32nd minute header round the post while two minutes later the midfielder's deflected effort was cleared off the line by Osama Al Harbi. But, with only a minute remaining in the half, Al Ahli finally claimed the goal they deserved when Diego Morales' corner was inadvertently flicked on by Al Ittihad striker Naif Hazazi and Al Muta powered his header home. The goal for Al Ahli instilled some urgency into an Al Ittihad side that had looked lethargic with Hazazi shooting wide after turning the home defence. The game looked to be headed for extra time when, with six minutes remaining, Simoes raced onto a long punt forward, outpacing Al Harbi before thumping his left foot shot past Zaid to book his side's berth in the final.