Incheon beat Haiphong 3-1 to earn Champions League berth

Incheon United players celebrate their 3-1 victory over Haiphong FC in the AFC Champions League playoffs at Incheon Football Stadium in Incheon on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Incheon United beat Vietnamese side Haiphong FC 3-1 in the AFC Champions League playoffs on Wednesday after a grueling 120 minutes, qualifying for the tournament for the first time in the club's history.

Incheon qualified for the Champions League playoff by finishing fourth in the 2022 K League, as second-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the Korean FA Cup last season and had already secured a berth.

The top three teams in the K League land in the Champions League each year, but a fourth-place team earns a chance to play in the playoff if one of the top three teams wins the FA Cup.

The match at Incheon Football Stadium in Incheon started with the K League side conceding a goal just inside five minutes to Yuri Mamute.

Incheon bounced back quickly with Stefan Mugosa scoring the equalizer with a header in the 17th minute.

Both sides then failed to score the winner through the end of the 90th minute, forcing extra-time.

Incheon found a chance to score from a counter attack in the 100th minute when Hernandes Rodrigues slotted in the ball from a pass by Gerso Fernandes, making it 2-1.

The Haiphong squad, including goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu went all out in the remaining minutes, but their attempt proved fruitless. Fernandes instead snatched the ball from Dinh Trieu around the halfway line and put it into an empty net to make it 3-1.

Incheon now joins the 40 teams competing for this year's Champions League title. The tournament will run from Sept. 18 through May. 18 next year.

Alongside Incheon, Ulsan Hyundai, Jeonbuk and the Pohang Steelers will compete for the biggest football title in Asia.

The draw for the group stage will take place Thursday at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]