Watch: Agony for Kitchee as they miss out on AFC Champions League place on penalties; Oscar scores on Shanghai debut

Hong Kong’s Kitchee came close to pulling off a sensational win over former winners Ulsan Hyundai but went down 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out to bow out of the AFC Champions League.

Kitchee held the K-League side to a 1-1 draw after extra time in Ulsan but were unable to prevail in the shoot-out.

Ulsan now advance to the main draw of the ACL, Asia’s leading regional club competition. Captain Kim Sung-hwan gave the home side the lead just before half-time and Kitchee’s Korean player Kim Bong-jin equalised two minutes after the restart with a bullet header.

Fernando missed the crucial penalty for Kitchee. Alex Akande missed Kitchee’s first attempt after Ivan Kovacec had given Ulsan the lead in the shoot-out. Lee Ki-jie then fluffed his penalty for Ulsan and it remained even until the final kick of the game, with Fernando’s attempt saved by keeper Kim Yong-dae.

“We played very well during the game,” said Kitchee coach Alex Chu Chi-kwong. “We defended the opponent’s attack and also created numerous scoring chances through our counter-attack and dead-ball plays, with Sandro even hitting the goal-post in extra-time.

“While the end result might not be what we expected, we have proven that we can play against K-League sides and did not allow the game to turn into a lopsided affair.”