Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal became the first team to enter the final of the AFC Champions League by defeating fellow West Asian club, Al Ain of United Arab Emirates (UAE), by an aggregate margin of 4-2 over two legs in the semifinal.
Al Ain put up a brave fight on the night in front of their own fans in Abu Dhabi but were reduced to 10 men when their former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan was sent off with 19 minutes remaining. Al Hilal reached their first final of the elite Asian club competition in 13 years despite losing the second leg, 1-2.
Al Hilal were the favourites to progress after their comprehensive 3-0 triumph in the first leg at home on Sept. 16. But the Emirati club's Korean midfielder Lee Myung-Joo pulled one back for Al Ain in the 10th minute through a glancing close-range header serving warning to Al Hilal that the night would be anything but easy.
Al Hilal's defence stood firm during the remainder of the first half against the mounting onslaught by the home team's forwards, led by Ghana's former Premier League striker Gyan, whose wasteful finishing helped the visitors' cause.
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Al Hilal got their reward in the second half. In the 66th minute, a scuffed clearance by Al Ain's Brazilian midfielder Thiago Neves fell for Al Hilal's first-half substitute Nawaf Al Abid just inside the edge of the penalty area. The midfielder played in his striker Nassir Al Shamrani who slotted home his 10th goal of the tournament and the visitors' equaliser on the night.
The home team's chances of staging another comeback suffered a huge blow when Gyan was shown a straight red card in the 71st minute for a reckless two-footed challenge on Al Hilal midfielder Salem Al Dawsari near the left touchline.
Am sad: http://t.co/yvxeQRvgoF
- ASAMOAH GYAN (@ASAMOAH_GYAN3) September 30, 2014
Al Ain, though, gave themselves a glimmer of hope with 12 minutes remaining as their Congolese forward Jires Kembo-Ekoko turned home from close range.
It was still an uphill task for Al Ain as they needed three more goals to rescue their campaign. But the visitors hung in again. Al Hilal left-back Yasir Al Shahrani came up with a desperate goal-line clearance off the persevering Lee with just four minutes remaining.
Al Hilal had done enough to secure their place in the two-legged final against either Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers or Korea Republic's FC Seoul on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.