Shamed teams battle for Asian Champions League final

Suwon Bluewings need to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Al Sadd Wednesday to reach the Asian Champions League final in a game that will be closely scrutinised after a brawl marred the first leg. South Korea's Suwon will be desperate to avenge their controversial defeat in the semi-final second leg in Doha and set up a potential all-Korean final -- but are hit by bans for striker Stevica Ristic and coach Ko Jong-Su. In Wednesday's other semi-final, newly crowned K-League champions Jeonbuk Motors take a handy one-goal advantage into their second-leg game against 2004 and 2005 champions Al Ittihad, after coming from behind in Jeddah to win 3-2. The Suwon-Al Sadd clash will be carefully watched for any hint of bad blood after a shameful mass punch-up between players and coaches from both sides in last week's first leg in South Korea Ristic and Ko were both banned for a game by the Asian Football Confederation for their role in the melee that blighted the first leg. The confederation also meted out one-match suspensions to an Al Sadd coach and players Kader Keita and Mamadou Niang -- whose disputed second goal of the night for the Qatari side sparked the brawl. The violence erupted late in the second half after Niang raced onto a quick free-kick while much of Suwon's team were tending to an injured player. The resulting pushing and shoving degenerated into an all-out brawl. In the other semi-final, the momentum is with free-scoring Jeonbuk Motors after they came from a goal down in a dramatic first-leg match. Keen to take the game to the visitors, the South Koreans' coach Choi Kang-Hee has pledged to give star striker Lee Dong-Gook until the very last minute to recover from injury. Lee, who has scored nine goals in the competition so far, was ruled out of the first leg and Jeonbuk's weekend K-League draw which secured them the domestic title, but he could still make the deciding match against the Saudis. "Although Lee has a light injury I will decide later on whether or not he plays. We managed to beat Al Ittihad without him," Choi said. "We have two more games to win the ACL and I am confident we will do so." Lee, 32, is desperate to win the competition, which has eluded him throughout an illustrious career. "I have not won the AFC Champions League so far and I really want to win the title," he said. "We have been doing very well so far... but I want to end up with the best result." His side face a chastened Al Ittihad, who are determined to turn the tables on the Koreans in Jeonju after letting a 2-1 lead slip at home. "They embarrassed us on our own land so we will do our best to defeat them at their home, said skipper Mohammed Noor after that game. "We disappointed our fans but I promise we will make them happy again." Jeonbuk and Suwon are gunning to set up the first all-Korean final since the 2002 Asian Club Championship -- the predecessor to the Asian Champions League -- and keep the trophy in South Korean hands for the third year running. A South Korean victory would be particularly welcome for the K-League this year after shock revelations of rampant match-fixing which resulted in mass arrests, life bans and suspected suicides of a player and coach. The Middle Eastern teams are bidding to halt a five-year hold on the trophy by East Asian sides stretching back to Al Ittihad's second victory six years ago.