JINAN, China, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A 2-2 away draw was enough for Beijing Guoan to pocket their fourth CFA Cup title here on Friday, as the capital-based outfit overcome Shandong Luneng on away goals after the two sides have tied 1-1 in the first leg on Guoan's home soil five days ago.
Zhang Xizhe's powerful header in the 81st minute gave Guoan a 2-1 lead, 3-2 on aggregate, which meant the hosts needed at least two goals to turnover the game.
Diego Tardelli's header in the 89th minute lit the hope for the them, but it turned out to be just a consolation goal. Luneng were still running and trying to find a chance in the extra time, but when defender Dai Lin was sent off with two yellow cards, everything was gone.
"I would grade myself with 70 or 80 points, but I tried my best to unite the team. I will work much harder in future," said Li Xiaopeng, the head coach of Luneng.
"I should send my sincere thanks to our fans. We tried to take the title, and we fought to the last minute," the 43-year-old Li added.
Cedric Bakambu Jonathan Viera Ramos opened the scoring for the visitors at 16 minutes into the match. But Carlos Gilberto Nascimento Silva or Gil scored the equalizer after Tardelli's free-kick was blocked by Guoan's goal keeper Hou Sen.
Luneng won the CFA Cup title five times in history while Guoan have four now. The last time Guoan won CFA Cup was way back in 2003. A CFA Cup title gives Guoan an automatic berth in next year's AFC Champions League.
