Al Jazeera were hopeful of taking home a result that could help them reach the West Zonal final for the second time running, but they faced the challenge of an Al Jaish side that had not lost in their last eight AFC Cup games.

The Jordanians started brightly and were in complete control for the first 25 minutes, threatening first through Abdullah Al Attar’s header which narrowly missed the target, then through Omar Al Manasrah’s long range strike.

Risto Vidakovic’s side took the lead through Bienvenido Marańon just before the hour mark, but the visitors returned fire through Senegalese forward Pape Omar Faye to earn a share of the spoils and a potentially vital away goal at Panaad Stadium.

The two sides will meet again at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium next Tuesday, with the winners to advance to the ASEAN Zonal final.

Both sides looked to improve on their most recent AFC Cup campaigns. Al Ahed had been eliminated at the same stage last year whereas Al Wehdat suffered the same fate in 2017 and missed out on the 2018 AFC Cup.

Al Wehdat came racing out of the blocks, and within three minutes, they had their first sight of goal.

Al Wehdat will play Lebanon Al Ahed FC , the Group C winners, in the two-leg semi-finals scheduled for June 17 and 24.

With a two-point advantage over their opponents, Al Wehdat came into the final Group A game needing just a draw to secure a place in the next stage. Only a win could do for Hilal Alquds, while Syria’s Al Jaish hoped for a draw as they faced Nejmeh in the other group game.

The game got on to a pacey start, with Al Wehdat dominating the early proceedings, but with clear-cut chances few and far between.

The two-legged semi-finals will kick off on Tuesday and Wednesday with the return legs the following week. The two victors will progress to the ASEAN Zonal Final a month later to determine who is the 2019 AFC Cup's Southeast Asia champion.

We look at four players - one from each of the semi-finalists - who could prove to be the difference-makers.

After a slow start, Binh Duong qualified for the knockout rounds as the best-placed runners-up in the region after defeating Ceres Negros in their final group game.

There were no such problems for Makassar, meanwhile, as the Liga 1 team won four and drew two to progress on what is their debut appearance in the competition.

Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol and India’s Chennaiyin FC – Group D and E leaders respectively – will look to edge closer to knockout round qualification while, in the East, DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC need just a point to progress for the third successive year.