Captain Koni fires Sadd into quarter-finals

Qatar’s Al Sadd secured a quarter-final berth in the AFC Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab at the Sheikh Jassim stadium in Doha yesterday.The winning goal was scored by team captain Abdulla Koni, who nodded home on a corner from Brazilian striker Leandro da Silva in the opening half.The hosts made their intensions clear, going into early attacks as midfielder Wesam Rizik tested Waleed Adulla at the Al Shabab goal from distance five minutes into play.The visitors found their rhythm as the match wore on, with striker Nassir al-Shamrani narrowly missing on a chance in the seventh minute.Al Sadd took the lead in the 12th minute when Koni leapt above Al Shabab defenders to head home on a corner from Leandro.Al Shabab showed urgency making repeated raids on Al Sadd but they were left frustrated by goalkeeper Mohammed Saqr who remained outstanding throughout the match. After a fabulous save in the 13th minute to deny Brazilian Marcelo Camacho, Saqr produced more saves, blocking a shot from Hassan Muath in the 25th minute and then palming away an effort from al-Shamrani just before the half-hour mark.Al Shabab continued to mount pressure on Al Sadd after the break but the hosts held firm with Saqr proving his mettle under the bar to see his team safely through to the next round.Elsewhere, South Korean champions FC Seoul and Suwon Bluewings sent Japanese opposition sprawling as K-League clubs assumed the box seat for a third straight AFC Champions League title. FC Seoul hammered Kashima Antlers 3-0, while Suwon put two unanswered goals past J-League winners Nagoya Grampus to join Korea’s 2006 Asian champions Jeonbuk Motors in the continental quarter-finals, says according to AFP report.All three teams topped their groups with Jeju United the only K-Leaguers not into the last 16. They now have a golden chance to join 2009 and 2010 champions Pohang Steelers and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma as the latest Korean winners. In Seoul, Bang Seung-Whan put the domestic title-holders ahead on 38 minutes before Dejan Damjanovic gave Kashima a mountain to climb with the second 10 minutes after half-time. Koh Myong-Jin wrapped up the scoring in injury time. The result put paid to a brave showing by Kashima, who reached the knock-out phase despite being rocked physically and emotionally by Japan’s devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, which damaged their home stadium. Meanwhile Yeom Ki-Hoon led the way for Suwon when he opened the scoring on 23 minutes. And there was to be no route back for Nagoya, the reigning J-League title-holders, after Lee Sang-Ho grabbed the second on 57 minutes. Debutants Cerezo Osaka are now flying the lone flag for Japan after reaching the quarter-finals on Tuesday, while South Korean football can claim further bragging rights over their neighbours and arch-rivals in the wealthy J-League. Iran’s Zobahan brushed aside Al Nassr 4-1, making it a bad evening for the two Saudi sides. Iranian side Sepahan were the other team to reach the quarter-finals on Tuesday when they ousted Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor 3-1. Al Ittihad were the last West Asian team to lift the trophy when they completed back-to-back wins in 2005, but the event has since had only Japanese and South Korean winners. The marathon competition takes a nearly four-month break before returning for two-legged quarter and semi-finals in September and October, ahead of the final in November.