Despite the lack of goals, the game saw plenty of action from both sides as Al Hilal were denied by the woodwork while Al Wahda had the ball in the net late on only for the effort to be disallowed for offside.

The result leaves the tie wide open for the return game in Riyadh next Wednesday.

Both sides struggled to settle into their normal games in the hot and humid conditions of Abu Dhabi and it was not until the 14th minute that the first chance was created.

Saudi Arabia international skipper Yasser Al Qahtani rose high inside the area to head a cross which went straight at Al Wahda's Moroccan goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri while Basheer Saeed responded for the home side with a powerful drive from 30 yards out that went just wide of the left upright at the other end in the 19th minute.

Al Hilal went close against on 29 minutes when Lamyaghri came off his line to stop Al Qahtani with the loose ball falling to former Asian Player of the Year Nawaf Al Temyat, who fired wide.

Al Wahda fashioned a chance of their own in the 32nd minute when skipper Haidar Alo Ali beat two Al Hilal defenders before firing in a shot that caused little trouble for Al Hilal goalkeeper Mohammad Al Deayea.

There was a scare for Al Wahda a minute later when Mohammed Al Shalhoub broke free on the left side before laying up a chance for Al Temyat whose shot was cleared by the Al Wahda defence.

However, Al Shalhoub won the ball again off Brazilian defender Leonardo Silva and fired in another shot that bulged the side netting, much to the relief of the home fans.

There were more chances after the break as Al Hilal took control in midfield and nearly went ahead in the 58th minute as a shot by Al Temyat skimmed over the crossbar.

A minute later, Al Wahda's Croatian striker Ahmad Sharbini received the ball on the edge of the Hilal penalty area and made his way into the box before delivering a weak shot that didn't trouble Al Deayea.

The closest that Al Hilal came to breaking the deadlock was in the 73rd minute when Al Shalhoub fired a free-kick from the left flank directly at goal which beat Lamyaghri but came back off the woodwork.

Eight minutes from the end, Al Wahda should have scored the decisive goal when Ismail Matar, who was clearly not in his best form, began a move with a nice pass to Mohamed Al Shehhi who broke free inside the Al Hilal area before laying the ball back for Haidar Alo Ali only for the Al Wahda skipper to blaze his shot over.

With only five minutes left on the clock, Al Hilal thought they had nabbed a winner as Al Qahtani headed a cross from Al Shalhoub towards goal only to be denied by the save of the game by Lamyaghri, who pushed around his post for a corner.

Al Wahda fans were up on their feet celebrating three minutes later when Sharbini headed home a cross from Basheer Saeed but their celebrations were cut short as the effort was ruled out for offside.