Pohang to meet Umm Salal in Asian CL semis

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- 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.

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