AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said the attendance for the ASEAN Zone Group H match was reflective of the continued improvements undertaken to enhance the prestige and standards of the competition.

Dato’ Windsor said: “The AFC, as envisaged in our Vision and Mission, is committed to improving the quality of our competitions for our players, fans and teams. This objective is reflected in this season’s AFC Cup with a record-breaking 44 clubs competing for the highest-ever prize money in the history of the competition.

“This record demonstrates the ever-increasing interest and wide appeal of the AFC’s competitions. I congratulate Persija Jakarta and I would also like to thank all our clubs and Member Associations for their commitment to improve the AFC Cup.

“It is particularly impressive this milestone was achieved in the group stages of the AFC Cup and I am confident, as we work closely with our Member Associations, we will continue to witness even more thrilling matches, which will engage and excite more passionate fans as the competition progresses into the knockout stages.”

Persija went into the Group H game at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium level on points with their opponents and having lost 3-0 in the first meeting in Johor Baru. However, a stunning hat-trick within the game's opening 19 minutes from Simic ensured the match was effectively over before the midway point of the first half.

Both teams came into the heavyweight AFC Cup clash knowing a win was needed to keep pace with Song Lam Nghe An at the top of Group H and the home side sent the raucous crowd into raptures with an early goal when Simic got on the end of a perfectly weighted cross from Riko Simanjuntak in just the eighth minute.

The Jakmania were still celebrating when Simic doubled the lead just four minutes later with a thunderous header from Rezaldi Hehanusa’s pinpoint free-kick.

The home side were in dream land after 20 minutes when Riko and Ramandi Lestaluhu combined beautifully down the right-hand side to set up Simic for his hat-trick, as the Indonesian side had JDT on the ropes.

The half time introduction of JDT midfielder Safiq Rahim helped the Malaysians stem the tide as they started to enjoy more of the play, creating a few chances of their own, none better than when Darren Lok made space for himself in the box only to see his shot blocked by Maman Abdurrahman.

Simic put the icing on the cake from the penalty spot in the 87th minute after Azrif Nasrulhaq took down Riko in the area.

The win moves Persija Jakarta to the top of Group H, ahead of Song Lam Nghe An based on their head-to-head record, ahead of their final group stage match in Singapore against bottom-placed Tampines Rovers.

JDT, meanwhile, must pick themselves up for a home match against Song Lam Nghe An that will determine if they progress to the knockout rounds.

The Vietnamese side were looking to keep their unbeaten record at Vinh Stadium alive and opened the scoring after just fifteen minutes when Nigerian striker Michael Olaha headed home from Dau Thanh Phong’s corner.

Against the run of play the Singaporeans drew level with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half. The home side could only clear a corner to the edge of the area, where Japanese midfielder Ryutaro Megumi recycled the ball into the area, with Irfan Najeeb perfectly placed to loop a header into the back of the net, with goalkeeper Le Van Hung stranded off his line.