Seoul need penalties, Shandong leave it late in Asian Champions League

(Reuters) - FC Seoul needed penalties to get past Urawa Red Diamonds, Shandong Luneng a late strike to edge out Sydney FC and Al Ain twice breached the tightest defence in the competition to reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday. Kim Dong-woo struck the decisive spot-kick to give FC Seoul a 7-6 win in the shootout after a tense last-16, second leg tie in the South Korean capital, sending the twice former runners up through at the expense of Japan's 2007 champions. "I don’t want to have to go through that kind of game again," said relieved Seoul coach Choi Yong-soo. "It was very tough." Sydney FC looked to be heading into the last eight for the first time after clinging onto a 2-1 lead throughout the second half until Hao Junmin's 90th minute thunderbolt sent visitors Shandong through on away goals. Al Ain, the 2003 champions, faced a tough night in Iran after a 1-1 draw in the first leg back home in Abu Dhabi but goals either side of halftime from Lee Myung-joo and Danilo Asprilla with no reply saw them beat Zobahan 3-1 on aggregate. El Jaish were strong favourites to emerge triumphant from the all-Qatari clash against Lekhwiya in Doha on Wednesday after their 4-0 first-leg victory but had something of a scare before progressing despite a 4-2 defeat. Like Shandong, Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai also left it late against FC Tokyo on Tuesday, with Wu Lei's stoppage-time goal giving the Chinese side a 1-0 win, which saw them progress on away goals after they lost the first leg 2-1. South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors, champions in 2006, also went through on Tuesday, as Leonardo's two goals in Jeonju gave them a 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory for a 3-2 aggregate success. Uzbekistan's Lokomotiv reached the last eight for the first time with a 2-1 victory over twice Asian champions Al Hilal, which was enough to progress after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Saudi Arabia. Al-Nasr are also first time quarter-finalists despite a 3-1 defeat at Iran's Tractorasazi Tabriz on Tuesday, their 4-1 win in the first leg in Dubai enough for a 5-4 aggregate victory. China's Guangzhou Evergrande, champions in 2013 and last year, failed to get through the group stage. The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on June 9 in Kuala Lumpur. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Toby Davis)