AFC Action: Pakhtakor Tashkent In Round Of 16; Al-Ahli, SAFFC Eliminated

Matchday #4 in AFC Champions League group stage action concluded Wednesday.

Group A:

At Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

Goals from Odil Ahmedov (PK-36') and Stanislav Andreev (49') locked up a knockout stage berth for Pakhtakor Tashkent as the hosts placed Saba Battery FC on the brink of elimination 2-1.

At Dubai, UAE:

Al-Hilal, thanks to tallies courtesy of Mahmood Qassim (3'), Mirel Radoi, and Yasser Al Qahtani (64'), reached the cusp of the Round of 16 with their 3-1 road win over now-eliminated Al-Ahli.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Pakhtakor Tashkent* (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 10)
2. Al-Hilal (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
3. Saba Battery FC (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)
4. Al-Ahli# (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)

*Clinched berth in knockout stage
#Eliminated from contention for knockout stage berth

Group C:

At Tehran, Iran:

Esteghlal FC settled for a 1-1 home draw with Umm-Salal. Arash Borhani scored first for the host (44"), but Saud Ghanem equalized (71') for the second-place visitors.

At Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

In another 1-1 stalemate, Al-Ittihad hosted Al-Jazira. Osama Al-Muwallad scored at 40 minutes, while the visiting club from the Emirates (whose teams have been struggling in this year's tounament) got the equalizer from Fernando Baiano at 71 minutes.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Al-Ittihad (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
2. Umm-Salal (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
3. Al-Jazira (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
4. Esteghlal FC (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

Group E:

At Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia:

Yoshizumi Ogawa provided the only goal of the match (56') as Nagoya Grampus racked up a 1-0 road win over Newcastle United Jets.

At Peking, China:

Oh Jang-Eun provided the game's lone score (72') as Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i defeated hosts Beijing Guoan 1-0. The win placed the South Korean club in sole posession of second place in Group E.

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. Nagoya Grampus (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
2. Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
3. Beijing Guoan (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. Newcastle United Jets (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)

Group G:

At Kahima, Japan:

Shinzo Koroki's double (38', 74') was part of a big offensive display as Kashima Antlers eliminated the Singapore Armed Forces from the tournament with a 5-0 home brassknuckling.

At Suwon, South Korea:

Lee Sang-Ho (41') and Bae Ki-Jong (45') provided the scoring as Suwon Bluewings doubled up visiting Shanghai Shenhua 2-1.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Suwon Bluewings (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
2. Kashima Antlers (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
3. Shanghai Shenhua (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
4. Singapore Armed Forces (GP: 4; GD: -13; PTS: 0)