Bunyodkor beats Adelaide to reach ACL semis

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) A last-gasp header from Alibobo Rakhmatullaev put Uzbekistani club Bunyodkor through to the semifinals of the Asian Champions League with a 3-2 win over Adelaide United after extra time on Wednesday.

With the teams level at 2-2 from the first leg last month, Adelaide twice took the lead through Iain Fyfe in the fourth minute and Jeronimo Neumann an hour later, only for Bunyodkor to counter through Lutfulla Turaev in the 20th and Akmal Shorakhmedov in the 72nd.

Bunyodkor looked to have the advantage going into extra time after Adelaide's Fabian Barbiero picked up red card in the last minute of regulation, but the hosts then lost Anvar Gafurov to a second yellow card in the 101st minute.

With penalties looming, Rakhmatullaev headed home the winner from Turaev's cross to send Bunyodkor into the semifinals for the first time since 2008.

"Our opponent scored first but the team then started to play better. The players were able to change the game and show their character," said Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov, whose team had only won one of its previous four games against Adelaide. "We have played Adelaide a lot in the last few years and I am happy we were finally able to break our tradition of losing to them."

Updated October 3, 2012