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BRISBANE, April 17 AAP – A disputed second half penalty goal may have ended Brisbane’s Asian Championship League campaign with Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai taking a highly entertaining battle 2-1 at Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday night.

Ulsan’s captain and Korean national team member Kwak Tae Hwi delivered the knockout blow, converting from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute after Brisbane defender Sayed Adnan brought down Kang Minsoo with a strong challenge.

Replays showed the penalty call may have been harsh as Adnan had cleared the ball before Kang went down.

Opinions were divided on the penalty call but Brisbane had enough opportunities to win.

They bombarded Kim Seung Gyu in the final 10 minutes but the gun Ulsan ‘keeper was up to the task as both Henrique and Erik Paartalu came close to scoring.

It was Brisbane’s second loss at home and leaves them last in their pool with just two games to play.

With the clash locked at 1-1 at halftime there was no shortage of feeling and niggle in the second half.

Star striker Besart Berisha was hit with a yellow card by Iranian referee Torki Mohsen for dissent before the second half even started.

Ulsan struck early when nimble-footed Colombian Jaun Veleze propped and swerved past a slow reacting Mitch Nichols before driving a left-foot blast past helpless Roar ‘keeper Michael Theoklitos in the 11th minute.

The error unsettled Nichols who was guilty of several mistakes in the opening half as he tried to redeem himself before being replaced in the 75th minute.

The equaliser came from the unlikeliest of sources – Shane Stefanutto, the defender finding the back of the net in the 25th minute for only the third time in more than 200 professional games.

Stefanuttos’s angled strike, off a delicious Massimo Murdocca through ball, squared the score sheet and brought the 7,015 crowd alive.

The sheer pace of Velez, Lee Ho and Luis Carlos Martins caused Brisbane’s defence some serious problems as the Koreans pushed the ball forward early at every opportunity.

Brisbane had a great chance to grab a 2-1 lead in the 35th minute but Paartalu didn’t have the polish to finish with his stabbed shot sailing over the bar.

Theoklitos said Brisbane were disappointed not to come away with any points.

Asked about the 72nd minute penalty he said: “the referee made some soft calls”.

“We just had to get on with it but it’s pretty disappointing.”

Roar coach Ange Postecoglou, who can now focus on Sunday’s A-League grand final, said his side were punished for not finishing off.

“We had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of,” he said.

Publisher: AAPNewswire

17 Apr 10:35 PM