PA Sport

AMMAN: Reigning AFC Cup champions Al Faisaly will have a chance to defend their crown in this year's final after a 1-1 draw with fellow Jordanians Al Wihdat in the second leg of the semi-finals saw them progress on Tuesday evening.

Al Faisaly claimed a 2-1 aggregate win to set up a clash with Bahrain's Muharraq, who edged Lebanese side Al Nejmeh 4-2 on the same night to win 6-3 on aggregate.

After a scoreless first half, Mahmoud Shilbayeh gave Al Wihdat a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute before Moayad Abukeshek equalised in the 66th minute to earn Al Faisaly their place in the final.

Al Wihdat, who were trailing following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg, showed their intentions early in the game, taking just 20 seconds to threaten Al Faisaly goalkeeper Lo'ai Al Amayreh, but Ahmed Abdulhaleem sent his shot went wide.

However, Al Wihdat continued their march towards the Al Faisaly goal and they should have opened the scoring after nine minutes when a cross from Amer Deeb reached Shilbayeh, only for his header to slam against the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Shilbayeh back heeled his effort towards the Al Faisaly goal but Iraqi defender Haidar Abdulamir cleared the ball off the goal line.

In the 27th minute, Al Faisaly went close to breaking the deadlock when Haitham Al Shboul stole the ball from Al Wihdat defender Musab Al-Rifai before passing Abdulhadi Al Maharmeh, whose strike rocked the woodwork.

Al Wihdat had a bright start in the second period and they drew first blood in the 52nd minute when Shilbayeh headed a free-kick from Deeb past goalkeeper Al Amayreh.

But Al Wihdat failed to preserve their lead as Al Faisaly pulled level in the 66th minute when Jordan international left back Khaled Saed stormed into the area before passing to Abukeshek, who scored the equaliser.

That goal saw Al Faisaly move back in front on aggregate, but despite their narrow advantage they failed to trouble the Al Wihdat goal further.

While the champions struggled, Al Wihdat went all out to claim a second and, five minutes from time, they went close when Ahmed Abdulhaleem hit the post.

Tempers flared as the pressure intensified in the dying moments and both sides finished the game with 10 men as Al Wihdat's Haitham Semrin and Khaled Saad of Al Faisaly clashed in the final minute before being sent off.

Al Faisaly's Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad praised the defending champions.

“We had special tactics for the game and we wanted to score early to put pressure on Al Wihdat who would have needed three goals. We created several chances but the players missed them because of their poor concentration,” said Hamad.

“The most important thing now is that Al Faisaly are in the final and the match was up to our expectations and I would like to congratulate my team for their impressive display.”

“I know Muharraq very well and we'll have special preparation and tactics for the match and we have the necessary replacements for Moayad Salim and Khaled Saed who will miss the next game.”

Al Wihdat coach Jamal Mohammed said: “The result is normal and the draw with Al Faisaly is natural. We had a lot of chances to open the scoring early in the game and we played with two strikers and more players in the midfield.”

“However, we missed those chances and couldn't score due to the pressure on the players. I would like to congratulate Al Faisaly for their win and I hope they will retain their title.”