The sides in Groups F and G will kick off the action on Tuesday before Group H takes centre stage a day later, after which the three tables will begin to take shape.

Playing at home, Shan United dominated proceedings but couldn’t make it count and were made to pay when Home United struck on the counter attack with just 15 minutes remaining.

Missed Opportunities

Soe Myat Min’s men spurned chance after chance in an otherwise dominant display from the champions of Myanmar.

The home side pushed forward in waves, and won twice as many corners (12 to 6) showing how much pressure they were able to put on the visitors’ defence.

What was impressive about their victory was the way they took the game to Tampines Rovers, playing on the front foot and controlling the match.

Olaha in control

One of the most impressive performances for Song Lam Nghe An was that of Nigerian Michael Olaha.

The 20-year-old was a constant threat throughout the match, with his size and mobility proving difficult for the Tampines Rovers defence to handle, taking the game on and linking up well with his fellow attacking players in Ho Phuc Tinh and Ho Khac Ngoc.

The side from Myanmar showed more intent in the early stages and it was no surprise when they took the lead in the 15th minute as Kyaw Khant Min’s low cross from the left was perfectly weighted for Emmanuel Uzochukwu, who sidefooted in off the underside of the crossbar from close range.

And just three minutes later, Yangon stunned the home crowd with a second. Uzochukwu broke down the right and his deep cross went across goal to Lwin Maung Maung, who picked out the unmarked Sylla to head in off the far post from six yards.

Incredibly, it was 3-0 in the 25th minute, with Uzochukwu surging down the right and cutting back to Sylla, who swept home from 12 yards out.

The pace of the game dropped until Bali pulled a goal back in added time of the first half, Nyoman Sukarja rounded the keeper to cross for Gede Sukadana, who fluffed his first effort before the ball ricocheted back into his path and he stabbed home at the second attempt.

Wardanha denied Sylla his hat-trick with a fine stop from his powerful header before Bali were handed a lifeline in the 82nd minute when Moukailou Kekere handled a cross and conceded a penalty. But Kevin Brands struck the spot-kick wide to all but end the home side’s hopes of salvaging something from the game.

In two weeks, Yangon host Vietnam’s FLC Thanh Hoa, also winners in their AFC Cup opener, while Bali travel to face Global Cebu in the Philippines, with both sides aiming to get off the mark.

The home side survived an early scare when goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari was caught outside his box after a failed attempt to clear the ball, with Afiq Yunos forced to clear Khac Ngoc’s header off the goal line.

Song Lam Nghe An’s Nigerian attacker Michael Olaha was a constant thorn in the side of the Tampines Rovers’ defence, linking up well with Khac Ngoc and Phuc Tinh and showing a willingness to take on defenders, which created numerous opportunities for his side throughout the game and led to the second goal.

The 2017 Vietnamese Cup winners took the lead in clinical style just after the half-time break after winning the ball back on half way from a goal kick.

With the Tampines Rovers defence caught out of position, Khac Ngoc slipped the ball in for Phuc Tinh who made no mistake in putting the ball past Syazwan in goal.

Khac Ngoc then scored an early contender for goal of the tournament with a rocket from outside the box with just 20 minutes remaining, sealing all three points for the visitors.

Song Lam Nghe An’s next match is at home against Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim, while Tampines Rovers must recover from the disappointing loss and travel to Indonesia to face Persija Jakarta.

Played in foggy conditions at the My Dinh Stadium in the Vietnamese capital, it took until the 73rd minute for the home side to break the deadlock despite dominating proceedings up until that point.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s dangerous cross into the box was put out for a corner, and after taking it short, Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s left-footed cross floated to the back post where Omar Faye was left unmarked to smash a header past Global Cebu custodian Patrick Deyto.

Deyto had twice earlier denied Omar Faye with two clutch saves, including one in the first half from point blank when the Senegalese striker attempted to poke the ball home from a corner, with Deyto also doing well to clean up the resulting scramble in the box.

The 27-year-old shot-stopper was also called into action on the stroke of half time to deny Tran Dinh Dong’s venomous effort from the edge of the box. Despite his best efforts, however, it was the home side that got their campaign off to a winning start.

FLC Thanh Hoa face a trip to Myanmar to face Yangon United in their next match, while Global Cebu are at home against Indonesia’s Bali United.

Hammadi Ahmed, the 2016 AFC Cup top goal scorer, broke free behind the Jordanian defence and rounded goalkeeper Abdullah Al Zubi before the latter brought him down to concede a 16th minute penalty kick and receive his marching orders. Ahmed stepped up and converted from the spot for Air Force’s opener.

Ten minutes later, roles were reversed, and it was Al Jazeera’s Musa Al Taamari who was tripped by goalkeeper Fahad Talib inside the box, earning the latter a red card. The striker emulated Ahmed in taking the penalty kick himself and equalised for the Jordanian side.

The Iraqi side thought they had found the winner when Salih Sadir unleashed a powerful drive from 30-yards-out that nestled into the back of the net five minutes from time.

Al Taamari was again the target of a tackle inside Air Force’s box, drawing the third penalty of the night in the dying minutes. Syrian striker Mardik Mardikian powered in from the spot to earn his team a valuable point at the start of the campaign.