Jeonbuk Motors reached the AFC Champions League final as a 2-1 win against 10-man Al Ittihad at Jeonju World Cup Stadium gave them a 5-3 aggregate success.
Leading 3-2 from the first leg in Saudi Arabia, two goals from Eninho in the first half put the South Korean team further in control following the early dismissal of Al Ittihad striker Naif Hazazi.
Al Ittihad, Champions League winners in 2004 and 2005, were in trouble after 11 minutes.
Hazazi scored both goals for his team in the first leg but after tangling with Cho Sung-hwan he appeared to headbutt the Jeonbuk captain, and the referee had no hesitation in showing a red card.
Jeonbuk made their advantage count after 22 minutes when Jung Sung-hoon headed the ball forward from near the centre circle and Eninho wriggled past Osama Al Harbi, holding off the Saudi defender to advance into the area and fire a low shot past Mabrouk Zaid.
The home side pushed forward and were almost caught just before the half-hour mark. Jorge Paolo was found in space on the right side and the Portuguese player's low cross evaded the Jeonbuk defence to find Mohammed Noor who looked certain to score from close range, only for Kim Min-sik to get across to make a fine save.
Jeonbuk almost extended their lead in spectacular fashion. A corner from Eninho was headed clear only as far as to Jung Hoon just outside the penalty area, and the midfielder's fierce looping volley cannoned back off the post. Jung Sung-hoon sent the rebound towards goal but his shot was deflected by a desperate diving block.
Eninho then produced a moment of magic nine minutes before the break. The Brazilian curled his left-sided corner directly into the roof of the Jeonbuk net despite the attempts of Zaid and Mishal Al Saeed at the near post.
Despite the odds being against them, the visitors were still fighting in the second half. Paolo exchanged passes with Noor on the edge of the penalty area but his shot lacked the required precision.
Jeonbuk were happy to bide their time and exploit the gaps in the Saudi backline. Midway through the half Jung Hoon shot over when in a one-on-one situation with Zaid and two team-mates screaming for the ball.
Just as the game looked over, Wendel swept home from close range with 17 minutes remaining to ensure a few nerves but Jeonbuk held on for the win despite seeing substitute Krunoslav Lovrek dismissed for a second bookable offence late in the game.
Jeonbuk will face Al Sadd in the final after the latter came through against Suwon Bluewings 2-1 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat at Sheik Bin Jassim Stadium.
Oh Jang-eun gave Suwon the lead after just six minutes when he controlled a clearing header from Yeom Ki-hun's corner on his chest from the edge of the box before volleying home.
Khalfan Ibrahim saw goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong brilliantly tip away his fierce 25-yard drive after 33 minutes, the closest Al Sadd came to equalising.
And Mato Neretljak missed Suwon's best chance of the second half when unmarked, as he headed Lee Yong-rae's cross wide of the far post from close range just before the hour.
But the visitors were unable to find the second goal they needed as they paid the price for the first-leg defeat and Al Sadd became the first Qatari team to reach the Asian Champions League final.
''Of course we are very, very happy. To overcome them was difficult. There were many problems and yet we won and that's why I am happy,'' said Al Sadd boss Jorge Fossati.
''From my point of view, in the 90 minutes, we were threatening through counter-attacks. We could not play the game as we would have liked to but sometimes you must play as you need to.
''My players did it, my congratulations to them. We played well individually and we showed that we played well as a team. Look, in these types of games, a team has to play 180 minutes. We focus on the first 90 minutes and then the next 90 minutes.
''There's always a difference in the first 90 minutes and the next 90 minutes. So we change tactics as we go along. When we finish the 180 minutes of play, we look at the final score. That's important, the final score. That's my opinion.
''We didn't give them the space, especially in the second half. Then they had to go aerial, which we tackled well.''
Suwon coach Yoon Sung-hyo felt his players gave their all in a losing cause.
''We tried to win the game. We did our best. It was not easy but we tried,'' he said. ''I think Al Sadd, they gave us too many problems. To start with, we had to score three goals to go to the final but our players did their best.
''We had to deal with other things like the suspended players from the first leg, so it was not easy.''
