SERGIO ESCUDERO ended more than three hours of stalemate with a goal in the second period of extra time to hand Jiangsu Sainty the Chinese FA Cup with a 1-0 aggregate win over Shanghai Shenhua on Sunday.

    The Spanish-born Escudero, who joined Jiangsu from FC Seoul this year, prodded home in the 110th minute of the second leg at Hongkou Stadium to give the club their second FA Cup title following their 2013 success.

    Shanghai had chances to break the deadlock earlier but Cao Yunding sent a 35th-minute strike over the bar and Senegal striker Demba Ba missed another good chance with five minutes remaining of regulation time.

    With the win, Jiangsu, which hosted a first-leg goalless draw last week, grabbed the fourth and final Asian Champions League spot on offer for Chinese clubs despite finishing ninth in the 16-team Super League. It was also the first piece of Chinese silverware for their coach, former Romania defender Dan Petrescu, who joined the club earlier this year.(SD-Agencies)