Ittihad Club Jeddah defeated Al-Arabi of Qatar 3-2 in the last match of Group B in AFC Chmapions League at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Wednesday. Bu Alam was first to score for the Qatari team in the 9th minute and Hosni Abdrabo leveled the game in the 30th minute for the local side. Bu Alam wrested the lead again for Al-Arabi just before the break. Ittihad, which had already qualified for the next stage, came back strongly in the second half and Andoma equalized in the 64th minute. Fawzi Abdulghani clinched the winner for Ittihad in the injury time. Ittihad will face Piroozi of Iran in the next round. Elsewhere, Uzbek club Bunyodkor knocked three-time winners Pohang Steelers out of the league, beating the South Korean giants 1-0 to advance to the round of 16. Needing a win to advance, Bunyodkor's Anvar Gafurov put his side ahead with a header in the 48th minute. Buynodkor now will face Seongnam Ilhwa on May 29. The K-League side topped Group G with an unbeaten record. “It was a very hard game. I am happy we could win and solve the problem,” Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov said. “The price of one mistake is high, but fortunately we didn't make mistakes. Both teams had a chance, but luck smiled on us.” South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai fared better, earning home-ground advantage for the next round by beating Tokyo 1-0 . With the two Group F teams level on points but with Tokyo holding the edge on goal difference, Ulsan needed to win — and Kang Min-soo scored the vital goal in the 37th minute. While Tokyo also progressed as group runner-up, top spot in the group stage is important as the round-of-16 game is a one-off, not played over two legs like the quarter and semifinals. Ulsan will be at home against Japan's Kashiwa Reysol, while Tokyo will travel to China's Guangzhou Evergrande. Also Wednesday, Australia's Adelaide United secured top spot in Group E with a 2-0 win at Japan's Gamba Osaka. Adelaide will host Nagoya Grampus in the next round. Visiting Tokyo controlled much of the play against Ulsan but it was the hosts who went ahead approaching halftime. A freekick was played to the back post where it was headed back across the front of goal. Ulsan's Brazilian striker Maranaho appeared certain to score but his header hit the bar from point-blank range, rebounding to Kang, who knocked it into the net. Ulsan rested on that advantage in the second half, relying on a deep and compact defense to shut down Tokyo's sustained attacking forays. The Japanese side struggled to find a way through, and the closest it came was when Yohei Kajiyama's speculative long-range shot hit the left post in the 87th minute. In the Group F game between two already-eliminated sides, Australia's Brisbane Roar was held to a 1-1 home draw by Beijing Guoan. Four goals from star Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira helped Al-Jazira of the United Arab Emirates beat Al-Rayyan of Qatar 4-3. Al-Jazira, which already was ensured top spot in Group A, now faces Group C runner-up Al-Alhi of Saudi Arabia. In the other Group A match, Esteghlal set up an intriguing clash against Iranian league rival and Group C winner Sepahan after easing to a 2-0 win over Uzbek side Nasaf. Baniyas became the second UAE side to advance, beating Uzbek side Pakhtakor 2-0 in a winner-takes-all match in Group B match. Baniyas will face Group D winner Al-Hilal. Andre Senghor opened the scoring for Banyias in the 13th minute and Amer Abdulrahman put the match out of reach in the 71st minute.
