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Asian Champions League: Title-holders look to last four [Tue Sep 20th, 2005]
West meets East as Al-Ittihad look to defeat Shandong Luneng in the second leg of their quarter-final.
Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) (1) - (1) Shandong Luneng (China)
The reigning champions were pleased with their 1-1 draw in eastern China last week, and will be confident of finishing off an inconsistent Shandong side.
With a strike force of Mohammad Kallon and Joseph Desire-Job, the Saudis have the firepower to worry the runners-up of last season’s Chinese Super League.
Captain Mohammed Noor was the one who got the all-important goal last week and the livewire midfielder will be looking to lift the silver trophy once again this autumn.
Shandong coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic is looking forward to the tense showdown.
“The two Al Ittihad centre halves are both big and strong players so it’s not easy to play through the centre against them,†reported FootballAsia.com.
“We must use the wings more to attack them and maybe try some new tactics as well as making better use of our free kicks.â€
“We have to defend well in Jeddah. I know that a nil-nil draw is not good for us but we don’t want to chase the game and leave ourselves exposed to their counterattack,†said the Serbo-Montenegrin.
“It will certainly not be easy for us to qualify for the semi-finals. Al Ittihad play like a European team. They are strong, tall and quick and their whole team possess good skills. Perhaps the one area where Shandong is stronger is in teamwork.
“It will also be tough in Jeddah because their fans will create a fantastic atmosphere and make it difficult for us. Hopefully, that could also put a bit of extra pressure on their own team and we can go there and get the result we need.â€
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