Player Ratings: Al Ittihad 1-2 Pohang Steelers

Al Ittihad

Mabrouk Zaid – 5.5: His side gave 2 goals to their opponent. But these goals were not only his own fault. He had sure hands.

Redha Takar - 6: He fought hard against Stevo. He won the aerial battle but lost the war.

Obaid Al Sharmani - 6: He did not allow Noh Byung Jun to play freely. He covered the space behind the offensive Aboucherouane quite well.

Saleh Al Saqri - 6.5: His will to play offensively helped Al Ittihad when they went forward and he was a threat to Pohang.

Hamad Al Montashari - 6.0: He played with intelligence at the back and combined well with Takar.

Manaf Aboshgair- 5.5: He showed that he has good technique but he struggled to make any impact on the game at all.

Hicham Aboucherouane - 6.5: His great free kick after 34 minutes reminded this reporter me of Roberto Carlos at the 1997 Confederation Cup. He dribbled well and was a threat

Ahmed Hadid -5.0: He couldn’t build the play from midfield and couldn’t show his quality.

Saud Khariri -5.0: His passes were intercepted by Pohang several times. After shifting to the right-back position, he made a number of mistakes and it was a poor performance all round.

Mohammed Noor- 7: He was the most dangerous player on the pitch and proved it with a well-taken goal.

Amine Chermiti- 6.0: Always he tried to sneak behind the Pohang defence and he played a big part in the goal and missed a couple of good chances.

Substitutes

Felix Luciano Leguizamon - 6: He almost scored after 75 minutes but the goalkeeper was equal to the task.


Pohang Steelers

Shin Hwa Yong -7: Never lost concentration and was safe with his hands. He made a number of great saves.

Hwang Jae Won- 6.5:He saved a goal after 11 minutes by throwing his body to block Chermiti’s shot on. It was big play.

Kim Hyung Il - 7.5: His head was useful not only in defence but also in attack. His goal was excellent and his overall match was more impressive considering the recent death of his father.

Choi Hyo Jin - 7.0: He never stopped running on the right side. He likes to play offensively but never forgot his defensive duties.

Kim Tae Su - 5.5: He played as a defender behind the strikers and did what he needed to do.

Kim Jae Sung -6: He showed his creativity and technique but never really made the impact he wanted.

Kim Jung Kyum- 5: He couldn’t catch up with the speedy Aboucherouane. Also he lost out in the air with Chermiti when Al Ittihad scored.

Shin Hyung Min - 5.5: He couldn’t stop Noor completely. He made some chances with his long passes but made some mistakes. After his yellow card, he drifted out of the game.

Stevica 'Stevo' Ristic -5: He couldn’t keep the ball well in attack and wasn’t as effective as he could have been.

Denilson -6: He wasn’t as influential as people expected but showed some good plays. He was fouled for the free-kick for the first goal.He played hard until he left the pitch.

Noh Byung Jun -6.5: Didn’t do much except score the first goal but it was a great moment for his team.

Substitutes

Park Hee Chul-6: He did his best to prevent the Saudis from scoring.

Song Chang Ho -6: From the front line, he played aggressively to shut his opponents down.

Namkung Do - n/a


Takashi Sugiyama, Goal.com Japan