The J. League's Urawa Reds took a step toward their second Asian championship and their first in 10 years with a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Asian Champions League final on the road against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on Saturday.
Reds' Rafael Silva opened the scoring in the seventh minute, when he found space after a defender fell and dashed around the defense. After his cross was blocked in front of the goal and rolled uncontrolled into the penalty area, Silva poked it home past several defenders. It was his eighth goal of this year's competition.
From the start, Reds seemed content to play the game in their half, rarely maintaining possession and conceding numerous scoring opportunities to the Saudis, who equalized through star forward Omar Khribin in the 38th minute.