AFC Cup QF: Persipura Jayapura 6-1 Kuwait SC. (8-4 agg.)

Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, the home side made an excellent start as Pugliara fired them ahead with a spectacular scissor kick after just 80 seconds and the Argentinian added his second in first-half stoppage-time to make it 3-0, shortly after captain Boaz Solossa had scored from long range.

Titus Bonai extended the home side's lead seven minutes into the second half and although Reza Ghoochannejhad pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 65th minute, Pugliara completed his hat-trick a minute later before substitute Ferinando Pahabol found the net in stoppage time to complete a stunning 8-4 aggregate victory for Persipura, who became the first Indonesian side to reach the AFC Cup semi-finals.

Having ended Kuwait SC's hopes of winning a third consecutive AFC Cup title and a fourth overall, they will now meet either Bahrain's Al Hidd or 2013 runners-up Qadsia SC of Kuwait in the last four.

Persipura had conceded two late goals to lose 3-2 in the first leg but the Indonesian side made the best start possible on a hot afternoon at the Mandala Stadium as Pugliara netted his first AFC Cup in spectacular fashion in just the second minute. A deep corner from the right was not properly dealt with by the Kuwait SC defence and Bio Paulin knocked the ball down for the Argentinian, who hooked it into the net with a well-executed scissor kick.

The visitors may have been feeling the effects of their long journey from the Middle East to Papua but they went close to an equaliser as goalkeeper Yoo Jae-hoon made a pair of fine saves to keep out Al Enezi's shot from a narrow angle and Waleed Ali's long-range shot in the opening 10 minutes.

However, Persipura's defence held firm against the Kuwait SC pressure and they posed a constant threat on the counter-attack. They could have extended their advantage as an unmarked Gerald Pangkali shot wastefully wide in the 25th minute and Bonai then had the ball nicked off him by Sami Al Sanea as he was about to fire home from point-blank range in the 39th minute.

However, the second goal did finally arrive in the 43rd minute when a hopeful long ball by Ruben Sanadi found Solossa near the halfway line. He burst between two defenders and spotting goalkeeper Musab Al Kandari well off his line, launched a shot from 40 metres that flew past the helpless custodian as he scrambled back towards his goal.

Worse was to follow for the visitors in stoppage time as Bonai slipped the ball through for an unattended Pugliara to tuck home his second goal of the game.

Al Kandari made a good save to deny Solossa two minutes into the second half but he had to pick the ball out of his net for a fourth time in the 52nd minute when he could only parry another shot by Solossa across his goalmouth for Bonai to finish emphatically at the far post.

Ghoochannejhad had an effort ruled out for offside in the 57th minute but the Iranian would give his side a glimmer of hope when he headed in a cross by Al Enezi eight minutes later.

But those hopes was quickly dashed as Pugliara completed his hat-trick a minute later, gathering the ball in just outside the box and curling the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Kuwait SC's woes were compounded when Fahad Hamoud was sent off in the 68th minute after he received his second yellow card for inadvertently kicking Yoo in the stomach as he attempted to challenge for a loose ball in the Persipura box.

And there was still time for another Persipura goal in stoppage time as substitute Pahabol was sent clear down the right and kept his composure to slip the ball past Al Kandari to complete the 6-1 rout.

Photo: WSG