Dalian Shide's forward Siljak makes a shot during a AFC Champions League match against Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia on September 14, 2004. (Xinhua)

Dalian Shide forward Zou Jie powered home a second-half goal to save the host from an embarrassment as Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia held Dalian Shide to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of AFC Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

In a dour encounter at the Dalian People's Stadium, the Saudis took the lead through Croatian forward Mario Carevic midway through the first half and held out until substitute Zou Jie leveled the score for the home side after the break.

Despite being unable to hold on to the lead, Carevic's vital away goal puts Ittihad into a good position ahead of the return match in Jeddah next week. The Saudi side only need to prevent their opponents from scoring in the second leg in order to advance to the semi-finals of Asia's most prestigious club competition.

Dalian struggled to break down the well-organised Al Ittihad defence but should have done better with a free-kick awarded 20 metres from goal after six minutes that was fired straight at the wall.

There was danger in the Ittihad goalmouth in the 12th minute as Hu Zhaojun whipped in a low cross from the right wing that was dropped by goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid but cleared by the defence before the Dalian forwards could pounce on the loose ball.

Al Ittihad sat back in defence for much of the opening half but a foul by Zhai Yanpeng on the lively Mohammed Noor after 23 minutes earned the Saudi side a free kick opportunity on the right edge of the Dalian penalty box. With the focus of the Dalian defence on the three Ittihad players standing over the kick, the ball was cleverly worked over to an unmarked Carevic who smashed a low drive past Dalian goalkeeper An Qi from 25 metres.

Despite enjoying much of the possession, Dalian were able to create little of note with their best opportunity of the half falling to Slovenian striker Ermin Siljak five minutes before half time. Siljak, a scorer of eight goals in six matches during the group stage, received the ball in space on the edge of the Ittihad box but his weak shot was easily stopped by Mabrouk Zaid.

The second half began in heavy rain and Brazilian forward Chico could have extended the Ittihad lead when his shot was deflected out of play by defender Wang Sheng. Goalscorer Carevic was then booked after diving theatrically under challenge by Zoran Jankovic in the Dalian box.

The disappointing Siljak was replaced by Zou Jie on the hour mark and the 23-year-old striker helped to add some urgency to the Dalian attack. Jankovic fired a stinging free-kick from 30 metres that Mabrouk Zaid had to punch away and the Saudi goalkeeper was called into action again shortly afterwards as Yan Song attempted to slip the ball through to Hao Haidong after a slaloming run down the left.

However, the equaliser finally arrived in the 66th minute as Jankovic swung in a free kick that Adilson Dos Santos headed across goal to an unmarked Zou Jie, who bundled the ball home from close range.

Dalian pushed forward in the closing stages in search of an equaliser but the home side were unable to find a winning goal against an Ittihad side content to waste time as they preserved the 1-1 draw.

With the vital away goal in hand, Ittihad will be confident of advancing to the semi-finals when they host the return leg at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah next Tuesday.

(Agencies)

dour: silently ill-humored; gloomy（阴郁的）

away: played on an opponent's field or grounds（客场比赛）

goalmouth: （球门）

possession: （控球）