The Syrian team needed a win to retain the faintest of hopes of qualifying to the next stage, having only collected one point from their first four fixtures. Kuwait SC, meanwhile, were in a better position with seven points seeing them sit second going into Matchday Five.
Kuwait SC’s first big chance of the match carried the signature of Abdullah Al Buraiki whose free-kick 10 minutes into the game was tipped over by goalkeeper Muhanad Al Khiari.
Hamid Mido tried his luck halfway through the opening period with a left-footed volley from outside the box, but his effort went just wide.
The Kuwaiti side continued to push for an opener, but Al Khiari played a key role in keeping the scores level. The Syrian goalkeeper showed his qualities once again at the half-hour mark, producing a top drawer save to deny Sami Al Sanea a brilliant goal after the right-back controlled and volleyed from distance.
Al Ittihad’s only chance of a first-half dominated by Kuwait SC came from a Mohammad Al Ghabbash header five minutes before the break. The captain was, however, unable to find the target after Mohamad Al Omari’s cross.
It was ultimately Kuwait SC who got the goal as the Syrian defence finally yielded, allowing Ivorian striker Saeed to freely head home Hussain Al Shammari’s cross to open the scoring four minutes before the break.
Kuwait SC set up more conservatively after the break, allowing Al Ittihad the opportunity to attack, and Mohammad Omar nearly capitalised on one attack to bring the Syrians level.
A cross from substitute Ammar Al Shaban was not dealt with well by Al Shammari and Omar pounced on the loose ball, but his shot was straight at Kuwait SC goalkeeper Hameed Youssuf.
A lack of concentration characterised the Kuwaiti response in the following spell as Faisal Zayed missed the goal with two efforts and Shereedah Al Shereedah saw a shot easily collected by the opposition goalkeeper.
Saeed doubled Kuwait SC’s lead with another header in the 79th minute. The striker dribbled diagonally past three players before feeding the ball wide to substitute Radhi Al Azmi who crossed back for the Ivorian to drive home a diving header.
The result means Kuwait SC keep the three-point gap with leaders Al Jazeera, setting up a fiery encounter between the two sides on the final matchday as they vie for the top spot. Al Ittihad are officially eliminated and will play for third place when they travel to Bahrain to face Al Najma on May 14.
