Renhe into FA Cup final

Source:Global Times Published: 2013-11-6 23:18:02

Zlatan Muslimovic of Guizhou Renhe falls down in front of Dalian Aerbin's Chen Lei (No.28) and Yang Boyu (No.2) on Wednesday. Photo: CFP

Zlatan Muslimovic of Guizhou Renhe falls down in front of Dalian Aerbin's Chen Lei (No.28) and Yang Boyu (No.2) on Wednesday. Photo: CFP



Goals from Zvjezdan Misimovic and Qu Bo put Guizhou Renhe into the Chinese FA Cup final as they ­defeated Dalian Aerbin 2-1 in the second leg of the semifinals on Wednesday in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Yu Dabao restored some pride for the visitors in 40th minute as he seized one goal after Renhe's goalie Zhang Lie failed to halt a header from Nabil Baha.

The two sides were held at 2-1 in the first leg as Renhe defeated Aerbin in Dalian on October 23, where Misimovic's late goal put Renhe ahead.

Several key Aerbin players missed their chance to fight back against Renhe due to injuries, including ­Fabio Rochemback of Brazil and former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita, as Aerbin's head coach Simo Krunic said injury was one reason for the loss.

"It's a pity we lost the game … We were struggling to get used to the altitude here," the Serb said.

Aerbin had a golden chance to equalize the game eight minutes before the hour mark, when Chen Lei's cross from the left flank passed through all Renhe's defenders, but unmarked Dong Xuesheng's shot which hit the near post failed to change the status quo.

"If Dong's shot had scored, ­everything would have been different," said Krunic.

Krunic, who took charge of Aerbin in June, had led the team to rank fifth at the end of Chinese Super League's (CSL) 2013 season.

Wednesday's game saw starting Yu Hanchao substituted by Sun Bo only seven minutes after the referee blew the first whistle.

Renhe's opponent at the final will be decided after Beijing Guoan's two clashes against Guangzhou ­Evergrande which are scheduled on ­November 23 and November 27. Guoan will host Evergrande first at the Workers' Stadium.

Gong Lei, head coach of Renhe, said he never worries about who their opponent will be in the finals.

"It doesn't make any difference to me whether we will face Guoan or Evergrande," Gong said. "Frankly speaking, these two teams are better than mine. But I like to fight against better teams as we can play without worrying about expectations.

"As we have made it to the finals, there are no other options except winning the championship."

Because Evergrande and Guoan rank in the top three of the CSL, and automatically qualified for the group stage at the 2014 Asian Champions League, FA Cup finalists Renhe ­secured the qualification playoff for the intra-continental games.

If they win the trophy, they can also directly qualify, according to the current evaluation system of the Asian Football Confederation.

The two-leg finals will be held on December 1 and December 7.

Global Times



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