half goals gave Algeria's USM Alger a 3-0 victory over Makkah side Al-Wehdah in their Arab Champions League (ACL) match at the Omar Hammadi Stadium in Algeria on Tuesday. Amar Amour put the home team ahead after the break with Ali Rial doubling the score only minutes later. Zuhair Musharif sealed the big home win for Algerians with the third. The match was the first for both teams in the primary round of the championship, which kicked off in September with 32 teams participating in the championship. Two Kuwaiti teams have been dumped following FIFA decision to suspend Kuwait. To ensure a place in the second round, Al-Wehdah needs to win the second-leg match, scheduled in Makkah on Nov. 25, with a margin of four goals. Al-Hazm, the second Saudi representative in the competition, has already secured its passage to the next stage after Al-Qadissiyah of Kuwait was also sidelined after the FIFA decision. The match was scheduled for Wednesday. Al-Wehdah started the match without its ace striker Ala' Al-Kuwaikbi, who suffered a leg injury just hours before the clash. Algerian side, cheered on by the huge number of its fans, looked the better side in the first half. Al-Wehdah seemed to be aiming for a draw as it worked to close the gaps in the midfield. After a goalless first half, USMA's Argentinean coach Oscar Fullone changed his tactics and it bore fruit when in the 62nd minute, Amour put the host one up after breaking the off-side trap to send the ball into the net of the helpless Wehdah keeper Assaf Al-Qarni. Rial doubled the lead for Algerian side three minutes later. Wehdah failed to threaten the home team after the second goal as it seemed to have lost heart. In the 76th minute, Musharif blasted a long free-kick into the left side net of Assaf Al-Qarni. In other matches of the day, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya of Iraq won 2-1 over Morocco's Hassania Agadir, while Syria's Al-Ittihad held USM Annaba of Algeria to a goalless draw. Algerian club Entente Setif also made a faltering start to its bid for a record third consecutive Arab Champions League title by edging Lebanese visitors Al-Ansar 3-2. __
