Al Wahda snatch an away point

The UAE clubs continued their fine performances for the second night in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday with Al Wahda snatching an away point at Al Ittihad and a second-string Al Jazira losing 3-2 to Al Hilal, having led 2-0. On Tuesday both Emirates Club and Al Ain posted victories over Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia and Hangzhou Greentown of China respectively. Al Wahda kept their qualification hopes with a gutsy performance against Saudi giants Al Ittihad, who became the first team to qualify for the last 16. Al Ittihad have ten points in Group C while Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor have five, Al Wahda three and Iran's Piroozi two, the last three all in with a chance of qualifying with two matches left. In Abu Dhabi, Al Jazira coach Abel Braga praised his much-changed team after they nearly pulled off a win over Al Hilal. Two quick goals from Ali Mabkhout and Abdullah Qasem late in the first half gave the recent President's Cup winners a 2-0 lead at the break. But Al Hilal hit back with two goals from Yasser Qahtani and a penalty from Mirel Radoi to post their third win in four matches. Braga, with the UAE Pro League as his main target, rested goalkeeper Ali Khasief, foreign trio Bare, Ricardo Oliviera and Mattias Delgado, plus Subait Khater and Saleh Basheer, while Al Hilal were at full strength. "Even if I had played with my full team I don't think they would have done so well," said Braga. "I am happy and pleased with the performance of my players. "We did very well to score twice in the first-half but the boys could not match that pace until the end. "Al Hilal scored twice from dead-ball situations. The first goal came from a free-kick and then the penalty, so I can't say my team played badly. Most of them were playing in the competition for the first time and they gained valuable experience." Braga also defended his decision to rest his key players. "As a coach, my first job is ensuring my players are fit and I can't expose them to injuries," he added. "They played four important matches in three weeks and they need some rest. "Some of them like Subait Khater have played continuously for the last six months for club and country so I had to rest them. "Our priority this year is the UAE Pro League and the President's Cup [which Al Jazira won on April 11], and next season we will concentrate on the ACL." "It would have been very unfair for my players had we not won this game," said Al Hilal coach Gabriel Calderon. "We were the better team and could have won by five goals. Instead, we made a couple of mistakes to concede two goals within a minute, but then my players came back very strongly to stamp their authority."gulfnews"