ENGLISH Premier League side Hull City scraped through to the final of the Asia Trophy in Beijing on Wednesday with a 5-4 win on penalties against Beijing Guoan.
A sublime strike from Geovanni gave Hull an early lead but from then on it was all Beijing and they deservedly equalized two minutes into the second half through William Paul Modibo.
The Tigers struggled to match their opponents’ enthusiasm and stamina as the game wore on but managed to hold on to take the game to penalties where, after Caleb Folan had scored to make it 5-4, Zhang Xinxin fired over to send Hull through to Friday’s final, where they will play Tottenham.
Backed by a vociferous home crowd the hosts started strongly and had Hull on the defensive in the opening exchanges.
However, it was the Premier League side, which took the lead in the ninth minute when Geovanni executed a fine drive from distance that gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Hull’s quality on the ball continued to tell and Peter Halmosi came close soon after but his effort was cleared for a corner by the Beijing defense.
But Beijing soaked up the early pressure and managed to push forward as Yan Xiangchuang volleyed over from inside the box on the half-hour mark.
Matt Duke was then almost caught out by a long-range effort from Emil Martinez before Ryan Griffiths glanced a header over the bar.
The hosts were proving more than capable of matching their opponents and deservedly drew level straight after the restart.
Tao Wei crossed for Modibo in the box and the Cameroonian defender beat his marker to stab the ball home from close range.
Beijing continued to dominate as Zhou Ting fired an effort wide before Griffiths’ turn and shot failed to threaten Duke.
Geovanni produced Hull’s first real chance of the second half soon after but his volley was well saved by goalkeeper Yang Zhi.
Hull had a chance late on but substitute Daniel Cousin shot high and wide from distance while Tao Wei forced Duke into a one-handed save in the dying moments before Martinez also tested the keeper.
Neither side was able to find a last-minute winner, though, sending the game to penalties.
Dean Marney was the first player to miss, Yang Zhi parrying his effort, but Sui Dongliang fired over the bar with the next kick and Zhang Xinxin’s wayward attempt gave a visibly-shattered Hull side victory.
(SD-Agencies)