North Korea’s first sports team to visit the South in eight years reached the Asian Women’s Champions League final on Wednesday as Naegohyang Women’s FC beat Suwon FC Women 2-1.

Naegohyang came from behind to defeat their rivals from the south amid torrential rain in Suwon, in a hard-fought semi-final played in a fair spirit without any major flashpoints.

Suwon captain Ji So-yun missed a penalty with just over 10 minutes to play.

The North Koreans will stay in South Korea for Saturday’s final, where they will take on Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza at the same stadium.

Interest in the rare North-South semi-final was intense, and 7,087 general admission tickets sold out within hours of going on sale last week.

A woman in her 70s who gave her surname as Lee said before kick-off that she lived nearby and attended the match “hoping to catch a glimpse of the North Korean players”.