Al Wakrah missed out on advancing to the AFC Champions League Two quarter-finals as they went down 3-4 on penalties to Al Taawoun of Saudi Arabia following a thriller in Buraidah on Wednesday.

Al Taawoun goalkeeper Mailson emerged as a hero as he saved two spot-kicks after the tie had ended 2-2 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate as the hosts set up a quarterfinal with Iran’s Tractor FC.

Al Taawoun were down to 10 men in the 26th minute when defender Waleed Al Ahmad was shown the red card by referee Yusuke Araki following a VAR review for violent conduct.

There was plenty of thrilling action, and many hits and misses as both sides pushed hard to score.

Al Wakrah tried to take advantage of their numerical superiority, with long-range efforts from Jacinto Dala and Hamdy Fathy forcing saves out of Mailson in Al Taawoun’s goal but it remained goalless at half-time.

Dala made the breakthrough for Al Wakrah in the 53rd minute with a brilliant header that went through a defender and the goalkeeper after the Angolan forward had leapt to connect a superb Ayoub Assal cross.

Al Taawoun forced their way back in the 77th minute with Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi latching onto a rebound in the box to equalize.

Renne Rivas then put Al Taawoun ahead with a header in the 112th minute, but Dala forced the match to penalties when he nodded home the equalizer in added time.

In the shootout, Mailson made saves against Al Wakrah’s Alexander Scholz and Dala to send Al Taawoun through amid scenes of delight among fans at the stadium.