Rayyan concede late penalty as Saudi giants Hilal win 2-1

Al Rayyan were left ruing conceding a stoppage time penalty after Saudi giants Al Hilal clinched a 2-1 victory in their Group D Asian Champions League match in Riyadh yesterday.
The game appeared headed for a draw after Al Rayyan’s Rodrigo Tabata had risen above the Al Hilal defence to score the equaliser in the 79th minute after the hosts had gone ahead with a third minute strike from Carlos Eduardo.
But Al Rayyan’s Musab Khidir was distinctly unlucky as the ball stuck his hand during a spell of intense action in the sixth minute of stoppage time to hand Al Hilal a last-gasp opportunity to clinch their first win in two matches.
And sure enough, Mohamed al-Shalloubh made no mistake from the spot much to the joy of the home fans at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad stadium in the Saudi capital.
Al Hilal were under severe pressure, especially in the second half during which Al Rayyan produced several scoring chances.
But luck was not on Michael Laudrup’s side, and Khidir’s handball compounded their misery as the hosts jumped to the top of the standings.
Last week, Al Rayyan had beaten the UAE’s Al Wahda 2-1 in Doha.
Meanwhile In Group C, Saudi giants Al Ahli took top spot after downing Iran’s Zobahan 2-1 for their second straight win.
The two-time runners-up opened the scoring through Abdulfattah Asiri who struck from the centre of the box in the 29th minute.
Mehdi Rajabzadeh equalised for the Iranians from the spot in first half stoppage time after Motaz Hawsawi fouled Jerry Bengtson and was penalised with a red card in the process.
Omar al-Somah put the result beyond doubt with a well-struck free-kick in the 86th minute as Zobahan remained winless in the tournament.
Also in Group C UAE’s Al Ain survived a scare from Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor before winning 3-2.


Results from West Asia
Group C
Bunyodkor (UZB) 2 (Vadim Cemirton 10, Dostonbek Khamdamov 43) Al Ain (UAE) 3 (Omar Abdulrahman 8, 89, Caio 15)
Zobahan (IRN) 1 (Mehdi Rajabzadeh 45+3, pen) Al Ahli (KSA) 2 (Abdulfattah Asiri 29, Omar al-Somah 86)
Group D
Al Wahda (UAE) 2 (Ismaeil Matar 58, Jorge Valdivia 64 v Persepolis (IRN) 3 (Vahid Amiri 4, Mehdi Taremi, 81, 90)
Al Hilal (KSA) 2 (Carlos Eduardo 3, Mohamed al-Shalloub 90+6, pen) Al Rayyan (QAT) 1 (Rodrigo Tabata 79)