Pohang Steelers beat Bunyodkor 4-1 after extra time and 5-4 on
aggregate Wednesday to set up an Asian Champions League semifinal
against Umm Salal of Qatar.
Umm Salal progressed by eliminating another K-League club, FC
Seoul, 4-3 on aggregate after the second leg in South Korea ended
1-1.
In an all-Japan quarterfinal match, Australian striker Josh
Kennedy scored two minutes from time to lift Nagoya to a 3-1 win
over Kawasaki and into the semifinals 4-3 on aggregate.
Nagoya will next take on Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia, which
routed Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor 4-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win.
The home-and-away semifinals are played Oct. 21 and Oct. 28.
Pohang's win over Bunyodkor ended manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's
first foray into Asian continental football.
Scolari, who guided his native Brazil to the 2002 World Cup
title before stints with Portugal and Chelsea, joined the Uzbek
club this season and was hoping to win the Asian championship and
get a shot at the Club World Cup.
But it was Pohang's Brazilian striker Denilson who guided the
Steelers through.
Bunyodkor conceded three goals before Victor Karpenko scored in
the final minute to send the game into extra time, with the
aggregate score locked at 4-4.
After 12 minutes of extra time, Macedonian striker Stevica
Ristic headed the final goal of the game to send the Pohang crowd
wild with delight.
Pohang started with three strikers in a bid to overturn the
two-goal deficit from last week's loss in Tashkent and quickly
caused problems for the visitors.
Umm Salal was content to play defensively against Seoul after
captain Ben Askar Aziz headed home emphatically from a corner,
meaning Seoul would have to score twice to force extra time.
A goalkeeping mistake allowed Seoul back into the match when a
tame Ki Sung-yong shot bounced out of the arms of Baba Malick
Ndiayd and into the path of striker Dejan Damjanovic.
Ten minutes into the second half, Seoul's Brazilian defender
Adilson headed wide from a good position and Damjanovic also shot
just over from long-range.
As full-time drew closer, Seoul continued to make chances in
search of a goal but Kim Chi-gon and Damjanovic both missed
opportunities.
At Nagoya, the hosts took a 2-0 lead after Yoshimi Ogawa fired
in a long-range opener in the 27th minute and Maya Yoshida headed
in a free kick from Alessandro Santos eight minutes later.
North Korean striker Chong Tese scored in the 38th minute off
Renatinho's pass to cut the margin to one.
Extra time loomed until Kennedy's late shot.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Kennedy said.
"It was a very dramatic finish with a couple of minutes to go and
the winning goal was the perfect way to end the game tonight."
The ACL final will be held in Japan on Nov. 7, with the winner
clinching a spot at the club World Cup
Al Ittihad took the lead through Sultan Al Namri, who pounced on
a rebound in the 42nd minute. Amine Chermiti, Hisham Bucherouane
and Mohammed Noor then added second-half goals to complete the
rout.
Sapa-AP
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