Al Sadd snatch Asian title on penalties

Qatar's Al Sadd shocked South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4-2 on penalties in a thrilling AFC Champions League final Saturday after they were deadlocked at 2-2 following extra-time. Former Portsmouth left-back Nadir Belhadj fired the winner into the roof of the Jeonbuk net, sparking delirium among the Al Sadd players and breaking the hearts of the near-capacity crowd at the 43,000-seat Jeonju World Cup stadium. The home side had dramatically forced extra time with an injury-time equaliser, but amid high tension Al Sadd goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr brilliantly saved penalties from Kim Dong-Chan and Park Won-Jae. "I'm very happy for him. When I returned to the club people told me he can't play any more, they said he was too old, but he played fantastic," Al Sadd coach Jorge Fossati said of his goalkeeper. "I couldn't imagine this game would go to penalties. I was really worried to get to extra-time because our physical condition was not the normal after 10 hours of flight. I was worried we wouldn't finish the game." Jeonbuk, chasing a second Champions League win after lifting the trophy in 2006, came close several times in a nerve-shredding 30 minutes of extra time, but were repeatedly denied by the underdog visitors. The victory brought an exhilarating end to a turbulent competition for Al Sadd, who were involved in an ugly mass brawl during their semi-final against South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Abdul Kader Keita, who was one of the players sent off over the semi-final punch-up, looked to have secured the title for Al Sadd with a second-half strike, until Lee Sung-Hyun's headed equaliser in stoppage time. Imperious Brazilian Eninho had given Jeonbuk the lead with a deliciously curled free-kick on 17 minutes, but an own goal by Sim Woo-Yeon levelled the scores before Keita's speared shot put the visitors in front. It was a messy but enthralling game, played in front of a raucous crowd, and vindicates Al Sadd coach Jorge Fossati's pre-match warning that his unfancied side deserved to be in the final. Despite a barrage of jeers, Al Sadd started brightly with strikers Mamadou Niang and Keita -- both back from suspensions after the fight -- impressive and linking with the excellent Belhadj, who terrorised Jeonbuk's right side. When Eninho scored, the expected Jeonbuk goal glut failed to materialise and Al Sadd equalised near the half-hour mark when a seemingly innocuous Keita cross squirted off Sim Woo-Yeon's head and in. The visitors then stunned the visitors as they took the lead with a sucker-punch counter-attack. Jeonbuk surged back, hitting the post from a corner and winning a series of free-kicks in and around the box, before finally being rewarded with Lee's goal. But despite the presence of ex-Premier League striker Lee Dong-Gook, Jeonbuk could not find a way through again and paid the price in the gripping penalty shoot-out.