Saturday, February 12, 2011

AFC Champions League: Sriwijaya and Al-Sadd One Win Away From Group Stage

The qualifying phase of this year's AFC Champions League commenced with two games on Saturday.

At Doha, Qatar:

Abdul Kader Keita (12', 30') and Leandro (33', 67') each scored twice as Al-Sadd demolished visiting Al-Ittihad (Syria) 5-0 to advance to the final of the West Asia playoff.  The club from Qatar will play host to Dempo SC from India next Saturday for a berth in the group stage.  They would be joined in Group B by Esteghlal Tehran FC (Iran), Al-Nassr FC (Saudi Arabia), and FC Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

At Palembang, Indonesia:

After Muangthong United (Thailand) and hosts Sriwijaya battled to a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes, Keith Gumbs, Ponaryo Astaman, Budi Sudarsono, Mahardirga Lasut, Mahyadi Panggabean, Supardi Nasir, and Achmad Jufriyanto each converted a penalty kick in an extended PK shootout as the hosts won the shootout 7-6 to advance to----and host----next Saturday's East Asia playoff final against Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates) with the winner moving on to the group stage, where they would play in Group F alongside Hangzhou Greentown (China), FC Seoul (South Korea), and Nagoya Grampus (Japan).

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