Ahli bounced back in its second match of the AFC Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Al-Karama of Syria at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah Wednesday. Turki Al-Thagafi put the home team ahead in the first half and Mohammed Al-Hamawi equalized for the Syrians a few minutes before the break. Away in Syria, the second Saudi representative Al-Ittihad recorded a 1-0 victory over Syria's Al-Ittihad at the international stadium in Aleppo. Brazilian Magno Alves sealed the win for Ittihad Jeddah late in the game which was witnessed by more than 70,000 Syrian supporters. The win moved the two-time winner Al-Ittihad on the top of Group A, three points ahead of Al-Ittihad Aleppo and Kuruvchi of Uzbekistan after the Uzbeks defeated Iran's Sepahan 2-0 earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Al-Ahli with the home draw remained third in Group C while Al-Karama with four points extended its lead in the group away of goal difference of Al-Sadd of Qatar which drew 2-2 with Al-Wahda of UAE. Al-Ahli, which lost its first match 1-2 against Al-Sadd last week, looked determined to bounce back and remain in contention in the championship. Fifteen minutes after the kick off, Al-Ahli opened the scoring when Malek Al-Hawsawi sent a pass from the right to Turki Al-Thagafi who fired the ball into net of the Syrian goalkeeper Mosab Balhous. Al-Karama almost drew level in the 23rd minute when striker Ziad Chabo sent a powerful shot from inside the box but Al-Ahli goalkeeper Yasser Al-Musailem denied his attempt. Four minuets later, Al-Musailem made another save by conceding a corner after Al-Karama's Brazilian defender Fabio Santos sent a long free kick. Al-Karama's continued pressure earned it the equalizer in the 44th minute when Mohammed Al-Hamawi beat Al-Ahli defenders and the advanced goalkeeper. Five minutes after the break, Al-Ahli captain Hussain Abdul Ghani sent a long shot but Syrian goalkeeper made a good save. Al-Ittihad will travel on April 9 to Iran to play the home team Sepahan in their third round match while Al-Ahli hosts UAE's Al-Wahda in Jeddah. In other matches, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya of Iraq drew goalless with Kuwait SC, Al-Wahda of UAE held Al-Sadd of Qatar 2-2, Al-Qadsia of Kuwait drew 1-1 with Arbil of Iraq, Al-Gharafa of Qatar and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan shared 4 goals and Pohang Steelers of Korea thrashed Binh Duong of Vietnam 4-1. Genoa holds Inter Marco Borriello scored his league-leading 17th goal for Genoa to hold 10-man Inter Milan to 1-1 in the Serie A on Wednesday. Still, Inter extended its lead in the standings to seven points since Lazio beat second-place AS Roma 3-2 in the Rome derby. Inter leads with 68 points, followed by Roma (61), Juventus (55), Fiorentina (50) and Milan (46). Juventus was held to 0-0 at lowly Empoli, and Fiorentina lost 2-0 at Napoli. AC Milan was beaten 2-1 by Sampdoria and remained four points behind Fiorentina. Also, it was: Cagliari 1, Atalanta 0; Catania 0, Siena 0; Livorno 1, Reggina 1; Parma 2, Palermo 1; and Torino 0, Udinese 1.Getafe in final Getafe reached its second consecutive King's Cup final after drawing 1-1 away to Racing Santander in their semifinal second leg on Wednesday. Michael Laudrup's side won the first leg 3-1 at home last month.Bayern-Dortmund final Bayern Munich scored two second-half goals to beat VfL Wolfsburg 2-0 in the German Cup semifinal on Wednesday. Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund in the final next month. __
