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 defense in the competition to reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League (ACL) 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 runner-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 Shandong through on away goals.

    Al Ain, the 2003 champion, 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 was a strong favorite to emerge triumphant from the all-Qatari clash against Lekhwiya in Doha on Wednesday after its 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 the team progress on away goals after it lost the first leg 2-1.

    South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors, champion in 2006, also went through 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 champion Al Hilal, which was enough to progress after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Saudi Arabia.

    Al-Nasr is also a first time quarterfinalist despite a 3-1 defeat at Iran’s Tractorasazi Tabriz on Tuesday, its 4-1 win in the first leg in Dubai enough for a 5-4 aggregate victory.

    China’s Guangzhou Evergrande, champion in 2013 and last year, failed to get through the group stage.

    The draw for the quarterfinals will take place in Kuala Lumpur on June 9.(SD-Agencies)