Doha: Al Hilal advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday when a 0-0 draw with former champions Al Sadd in the second leg of their quarter-final at Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Stadium saw the Saudi Arabian side progress 1-0 on aggregate. Victory in Riyadh last week was enough to secure a place in the last four for the two-time Asian champions, who will now face compatriots Al Ittihad or Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the battle for a berth in the 2014 AFC Champions League final. In a game of minimal clear-cut chances, Saleh Badr Al Yazidi went closest to keeping Al Sadd's hopes alive just three minutes from time when his left foot shot beat goalkeeper Abdullah Mohamed Al Sdairy only to come back off the post. Next month's semi-final appearance will be Al Hilal's first in the last four since reaching the same stage in 2010, when they were eliminated by Iranian side Zob Ahan. Al Sadd, needing to score at least once to keep their hopes of a third Asian title alive, started with both Khalfan Ibrahim and new signing Muriqui, last season's Most Valuable Player with Guangzhou Evergrande, in their line up, despite coach Lhoussanine Ammouta raising doubts about their participation. Meanwhile, Yasser Al Qahtani – who succeeded Khalfan in 2007 as AFC Player of the Year – was left on the bench for Al Hilal. It mattered little, however, in the opening exchanges as Al Hilal, backed by the majority of the 14,200 crowd as thousands of fans had driven across the border from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, held the upper hand. Romanian midfielder Mihai Pintilii was at the heart of much of Al Hilal's best attacking play, shooting straight at Saad Al Sheeb in the opening minutes before being bundled over in the area for a penalty claim that referee Kim Jong-hyeok waved away. With the pitch cutting up throughout the opening half, both teams were left to try their luck from distance: Thiago Neves' effort was weak and straight at Al Sheeb while Salem Al Dawsari sent his shot flying over the bar. At the other end, Nadir Belhadj had Al Sadd's first serious look at goal nine minutes before the break, only to fail to find the target. With just seconds left in the half, Al Hilal fashioned perhaps the best opportunity of the first 45 minutes when Pintilii capitalized on an error in the Al Sadd defence to win the ball before turning to unleash a right-foot blast that Al Sheeb was forced to push over the bar. After dominating the majority of the first half, the pattern was much the same in the second as Al Hilal were on top until substitute AlYazidi twice caused the visiting fans to panic, heading straight at Al Sdairy in the 86th minute before seeing the post deny his left-foot shot less than a minute later, but the Saudis did just enough to progress.