Defending champions Al Ittihad remained on course to retain their Asian crown on Wednesday night but needed a penalty five minutes from time to earn a 1-1 draw at Al Ain in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final. Sierra Leone striker Mohamed Kallon converted the spot kick in the 85th minute to silence the home fans, whose cheers had echoed through the Tahnon Bin Mohammad stadium after defender Ali Msarri's 50th-minute opener. The only two winners of the revamped Asian competition will play the second leg in Saudi Arabia on 5 November to see who will represent the continent in December's FIFA Club World Championship TOYOTA Cup Japan 2005.

"I am not happy because today we had more opportunities than Ittihad to score goals especially at the beginning of the game and at the start of the second half," said Al Ain coach Milan Macala at the post-match press conference. "I know that Ittihad are a strong team, but we made six good chances and did not convert."

Al Ittihad coach Anghel Iordanescu had surprisingly left out Mohamed Noor from his starting line-up, but the skipper's omission did not seem to affect his team. Fed by Brazilian midfielder Tcheco, Manaf Abushgair skipped past two Al Ain defenders and shot goalwards, but his powerful effort was touched onto the bar by Al Ain keeper Mutaz Abdulla.

Before kick off, Al Ain's Nigerian striker Nwoah Onyekachi had boasted that he was aiming to score a hat-trick but he spurned a golden opportunity to give the home side the lead, pulling his close-range effort too high with the goal gaping. 

Returning from injury, Cameroonian forward Joseph-Desire Job had come in for Noor but it was his turn next to hold his head in his hands. With a little over 20 minutes on the clock, the 27-year-old nodded Ibrahim Sowed's tantalising centre inches wide of goal as Ittihad threatened dangerously on the break. Typifying the match as a whole, Kallon tried a spectacular overhead at one end, while, at the other, Panamanian striker Luis Tejada had another effort saved with neither side able to dominate.

Two minutes after the break, Al Ain midfielder Subait Khater almost broke the deadlock with one of his trademark dead-ball strikes. The 25-year-old, who had already scored five free kicks in the competition, thundered the crossbar from 30 yards bringing gasps from the crowd. Anguish turned to joy just minutes later though as Msarri bundled the ball home after his initial header from Panamanian midfielder Alberto Blanco's cross had been parried.     

The champions were stirred into action. Looking for an away goal, Iordanescu threw on Noor and the Ittihad captain presence seemed to have an immediate effect. First Job and then Kallon should have done better after being given bright openings but just when Macala and his team felt they would take a significant advantage into the return leg, defender Adnan Ibrahim burst into the box and was brought down by Gharib Harib. Kallon stroked home the penalty for his fifth goal of the finals.

"It was a good goal and we had a good game in general," said the Sierra Leone forward after the match. "In Jeddah the game is very important and we'll win."

"I must prepare a team for the second leg that will play better than today," added Macala. "I still think we have a chance of winning in Jeddah."