Yokohama F Marinos reached their first Asian Champions League final after seeing off South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai 5-4 on penalties Wednesday following a dramatic 3-3 aggregate draw.
Trailing 1-0 from a week ago, Marinos went down to 10 men in the semifinal's second leg but still won 3-2 as the J-League side persevered through the tough 120-minute contest in heavy rain at International Stadium Yokohama -- during which Ulsan had 40 shots.
"A huge step forward not only for the players but for the club itself to show that anything is possible," manager Harry Kewell said. "I'm over the moon for the players but we still have to concentrate as well."
Marinos now head to the final on May 11 and 25 against Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, who edged Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal 5-4 on aggregate Tuesday despite a 2-1 second-leg loss.
Marinos attacker Asahi Uenaka capitalized on a defensive mix-up between Ulsan defenders for the 13th-minute opener, which marked the start of a whirlwind encounter in which the home team took a 3-0 lead within 30 minutes.
The second arrived eight minutes later when three Brazilians combined as Elber played a short pass to the edge of the box for fellow winger Yan Matheus, who picked out Anderson Lopes in the area before the forward's swiftly-struck shot found the bottom corner.
Uenaka made it 3-0 following a misplaced pass by Ulsan inside their own half under high press from Marinos, with the midfielder turning well to curl a 20-meter effort into the top right corner.
But Matheus Sales' header from a corner pulled one back for Ulsan in the 35th minute before a huge call from referee Alireza Faghani turned the tide of the game. Defender Takumi Kamijima conceded a penalty and was shown a straight red for blocking the ball with his arm while sliding in for a challenge inside the box.
Darijan Bojanic scored from the spot to tie the overall score 3-3 three minutes to the break before Lee Dong Gyeong's strike from outside the area hit the bar as Marinos found themselves desperately hanging on.
Swede Bojanic was denied his second just two minutes after the interval as the referee ruled out a goal for offside in the buildup, while Matheus' 63rd-minute header for Marinos was also chalked off for the same infringement in a rare attack.
Kim Min Woo's close-range shot hit the bar in the 87th minute as Marinos weathered the storm to take the game to extra time. William Popp remained in inspired form to tip Kelvin's shot onto the post as the match headed to the shootout, where the keeper dived to his left to deny Ulsan's fifth taker, Kim.
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