Rim Chang-woo struck a late equaliser as Al Wahda snatched a 1-1 draw against Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in their Asian Champions League opener at the Al Nahyan stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Abdulfattah Asiri scored on the hour from a short pass off Abdullah Tamin to put the visitors in front, and when it seemed the Saudi side had done enough to leave the capital with all three points, Wahda levelled.
A weak clearance off a corner from Ahli midfielder Salman Muwashar was headed back into a crowded penalty area by Wahda striker Sebastian Tagliabue, and Rim was quick on the rebound to blast home on 90 minutes.
In the same Group A, Esteghlal of Iran and Iraq’s Al Shorta also played out a 1-1 result earlier in the evening at the Franso Hariri stadium.
Ahli began well and came twice close to scoring early in the game. Wahda’s Korean midfielder Lee Myung-joo made an excellent goal line clearance to deny Salman Muwashar, before goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi blocked a close range shot from Muwashar.
Wahda didn’t create as many chances as their opponents, but they had their moments twice through Ismail Matar.
The Emirati striker fired a free kick over the crossbar from just outside the area late in the first half and then had a close range effort saved by Ahli keeper Yasser Al Mosailem in the second period.
Wahda pushed hard for the equaliser and even found the back of the net through Congolese forward Paul-José M'Poku, who was clearly offside after latching on to a through-pass from Tagliabue, who recently earned UAE citizenship and could be in line for a call-up to the national squad.
Spurred on from that move, Wahda kept the pressure on the Ahli goal in the final 10 minutes of the game until they forced the decisive corner with just over a minute left in regulation time.
The result means all four teams in Group A are level with a point each after the opening round. Wahda travel to Erbil for their next meeting with Al Shorta and Ahli travel to Kuwait, their adopted home for Round 2 next Monday.
