Japan's Vissel Kobe team advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League after winning a 7-6 penalty shootout over South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Thursday in the quarter-finals in the Qatari capital Doha.
The original and extra time ended in a 1-1 draw, for the two teams to resort to penalties, which smiled in the end in the interest of the Japanese team.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings scored early through Park Sang Hyuk in the seventh minute, before the South Korean team had to play with ten men after defending Kim Tae Hwan was sent off in the 38th minute.
Vissel Kobe took advantage of the numerical shortfall in the ranks of his opponent, after Kyuju Furuhashi scored the equalizer in the 40th minute, to continue the tie as the master of the situation between the two teams, and the penalty kicks settled the situation between them in the end.
And Vissel Kobe - who qualified for this role for the first time in his history - hit a date in the semi-final with South Korean Ulsan Hyundai, who beat Beijing Guan 2-0 in the quarter-finals earlier today.