ABU DHABI -- Two-time champions South Korea needed extra time to seal their place in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, defeating Bahrain 2-1 in their round of 16 tie at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday.

Substitute Kim Jin-su was the hero with his headed winner at the tail end of the first period of extra time.

Bahrain can walk tall despite the defeat as they took the match to the Koreans and in scoring, became the first team in the tournament to break the East Asian's defense.

The Taeguk Warriors, powered by Son Heung-min, seized control of possession when the match got underway but were unable to crack open the compact Bahraini defense.

Miroslav Soukup's charges also showed their intent with Mohamed Jasim Marhoon forcing Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu into a dive but his effort flew wide in the fourth minute, before Komail Hasan Alaswad tested the custodian a minute later.

South Korea, however, continued to dominate but their first glimpse at goal only came in the 34th minute when an exchange of passes saw Hwang Hee-chan with possession in the box but the Bahrain defenders reacted before he could unleash a strike.

The 22-year-old Hamburger SV was not to be denied though as he put South Korea ahead from close range two minutes from the half-time whistle.

The move began with Son laying a pass to Lee Yong on the right flank, who then sent the ball into the box which was blocked by keeper Sayed Shubbar Alawi, only for it to land at Hee-chan's feet who then had the simplest task of passing it into the net.

South Korea pressed from the start of the second half in search of a second goal to put the game to bed, forcing Alawi into action with back-to-back saves to deny Ui-jo and In-beom's shots on target.

Bahrain, however, did not sit back and troubled the Korean defense with their counter-attacks.

Bahrain had a golden opportunity to level the tie in the 70th minute when the Korean defenders failed to clear a corner kick, allowing Jamal Rashed Abdulrahman to fire a shot which seemed heading into the top right corner, only for Seung-gyu to spectacularly palm it out.

The West Asians did not go unrewarded for their aggression as the Korean defense was breached for the first time in the tournament when Mohamed Saad Alromaihi slammed the ball into the net after Hong Chul made a last ditch clearance of Mahdi Faisal Alhumaidan's attempt.

Ui-jo had a great chance to win the tie for South Korea when he intercepted a poor back pass in added time but his attempt to curl the ball past an onrushing Alawi went wide, which meant extra time.