Akihiro Ienaga fired an extra-time winner against his old team as relegated Gamba Osaka's quest to salvage their season continued as they reached the Emperor's Cup semifinals with a 2-1 win over Cerezo Osaka on Sunday.
Ienaga struck in the 112th minute at Nagai Stadium after Yoichiro Kakitani sent the match into extra time with a goal on 49 minutes. Yasuhito Endo had opened the scoring after 19 minutes.
Gamba, who will spend 2013 in J2 purgatory after finishing 17th in the J. League this season, will face Kashima Antlers in the last four on Saturday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium.