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Golden Goal Carries Beijing Guo'an into Last Four
A head goal from Brazilian Sandro Carlos only one minute into extra time won Beijing Guo'an the last ticket to Chinese Football Assoication Cup semi-final in the Worker's Stadium in Beijing Sunday night.
After Guo'an's 0-3 loss to Xiamen Xiaxin in the first leg of the quarter-final in Xiamen, most people believe that Guo'an's chances into the semi-final are gone.
However, Guo'an players made the pundits wrong. Sunday evening, they proved with their commanding 4-0 victory that everything could take place on a soccer field.
Xiamen's guard Shi Yong was sent off seven minutes into the game for a hand ball, which put the visiting team into a difficult situation. But their tenacious defence forced a 0-0 tie for the first half.
Guo'an turned to be a different team when the second half began. In the 47 minutes, No 8 Yang Pu opened the scoring with a penalty gained by No 32 Sandro.
In the 65 minutes, No 13 forward Xu Yunlong, a member of China National Soccer team, headed home a free kick from No 19 Shao Jiayi, a newly selected national team player.
Yang Pu's second penalty kick into Xiaxin's net in the 75th minute elated the whole stadium, and brought the match into extra time.
One minute after the starting whistle, miracle happened. Sandro converted a perfect pass from Xu Yunlong, and headed into net with all his coolness. The Brazilian hero's golden goal brought the Guo'an one step further to the FA semi-final.
A similar scene took place in Wuhan on the same day. Second division team Wuhan Red Heart K smashed Liaoning Fushun 3-0 to enter the next round with an aggregate 3-2.
In Sunday's other matches, Shangdong Luneng leveled with Shenyang Haishi 0-0, thus booking a booth in the last four with an aggregate 4-1.
Despite a 0-2 loss to Changchun Yatai, Chongqing Longxin gained a seat in the semi-final with an aggregate 5-2.
The first leg of semi-final will be played on August 24, the second on August 27.
The defending champion Shandong Luneng will meet Chongqing Longxin while Beijing Guo'an will play Wuhan Red Heart K.
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