DUBAI — A brace by Victor Simoes De Oliveira helped Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia beat Sepahan of Iran 4-2 in their AFC Champions League match in Isfahan Tuesday. Xhevahir Sukaj put Sepahan in front in the third minute, but Simoes equalized for Ahli in the 23rd minute and Bruno Cesar cushioned the lead for the Saudi club in the 39th minute. Ahli opened the second half in style when Imad Ali Al-Hoseni pumped in the team's third goal in the 46th minute and Simoes put the result beyond doubt when he scored his second and Ahli's fourth goal in the 65th minute. Sepahan reduced the margin in the 87th minute through Talebi. In other late matches Al-Jaish of Qatar beat Al-Jazira of the United Arab Emirates 3-1; while Qatari Al-Garrafa beat Al-Nasr of the Emirates 4-2. Earlier in the day, former Asian title-holder Pohang Steelers took a big step toward the knock-out phase and dealt Sanfrecce Hiroshima a potentially fatal blow with a narrow 1-0 win. Bae Chun-suk's strike on 17 minutes was enough to put the 2009 winner level on points at the top of Group G with both Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor and Beijing Guoan, who fought out a goalless draw in Tashkent. But the defeat left J-League champion Hiroshima rooted to the bottom with no points from three games, and needing a dramatic change in fortunes if it is to reach the round of 16 as one of the top two teams. “It is extremely disappointing because our target was just to grab three points. We will go on all out to win all remaining games,” said Hiroshima coach Hajime Moriyasu. Elsewhere, FC Seoul survived a late fightback to beat Japanese visitor Vegalta Sendai 2-1 and extend its lead at the top of Group E, while China's Jiangsu Sainty beat Buriram United to rise from bottom to second in the same pool. Hiroshima badly needed a win to breathe life into its campaign but it was rocked by the early goal after striker Bae connected with a cross from Go Moo-yul, who had breached the Japanese side's defense from the left. “We have no choice but to win the last three matches and keep believing it's possible,” said Hiroshima captain Hisato Sato. “We need to throw everything at the last three matches.” In Tashkent, the competition's first ever game between teams from Uzbekistan and China proved anticlimactic as Bunyodkor and Beijing Guoan played out a 0-0 draw at the new Bunyodkor Stadium. The result left Bunyodkor, Beijing and Pohang Steelers all on five points with three rounds of games to go in Group G, with Hiroshima still searching for its first point of the competition. The top two from each of eight groups will go into next month's round of 16 in the trans-continental competition, which then takes a mid-year break and does not wrap up until November. — Agencies
