Riyadh: Al Hilal took a narrow advantage in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final showdown with Qatar's Al Sadd as Salman Al Faraj's second-half strike gave the Saudi giants a 1-0 win over the 2011 champions on Tuesday. A hard fought game at the King Fahd International Stadium was settled by an excellent finish by Al Faraj (pictured left), who rifled home from a narrow angle in the 71st minute to give his side a slender lead to take to Doha for next week's second leg. The home side dominated the contest but unlike their last AFC Champions League home match against Al Sadd in April, which they won 5-0, they struggled to break down their opponents. They very nearly took the lead in the 31st minute when Thiago Neves's free-kick picked out Salman Al Faraj whose first-time volley came back off the crossbar. But for all of Al Hilal's dominance, it was Al Sadd who nearly took the lead on the stroke of half-time when a free-kick from the left found Mohammed Kasola whose point-blank header was kept out by a fine reflex save by Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al Sdairy. Al Sdairy had kept clean sheets in his first five AFC Champions League games and his goal continued to lead a charmed life as Nadir Belhadj's powerful shot from distance rattled the crossbar in the 69th minute. That near-escape would prove critical for the home side as they netted the winning goal just two minutes later. The home side linked together well as they brought the ball up field before Nassir Al Shamrani slipped a pass through to Al Faraj who drove into the box on the left before firing a fierce left-foot shot into the roof of the net.