Tuesday's hard fought 0-0 draw away at Group H leaders Song Lam Nghe An puts Persija Jakarta right back into the reckoning for a place in the AFC Cup knockout stage ahead of two vital home ties, according to their number 9 Marko Simic.

The Indonesians endured an opener to forget on February 14 when they lost 3-0 away at Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia, but the Matchday Three draw in Vietnam was a solid follow-up to the 4-1 win over Singapore's Tampines Rovers in Jakarta.

Crucially, Simic and his side now have two consecutive fixtures on their own turf, where they will look for the fans to turn out again in numbers after the Persija fans broke an AFC Cup Group Stage attendance record against Tampines.

The home side fans enjoyed a spectacular victory and had much to celebrate as Persija claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win over the visitors, courtesy of Marko Simic’s hat-trick and a thunderbolt from Rezaldi Hehanusa.

The match on Wednesday ranks third overall in terms of AFC Cup spectatorship history and is just shy of the Kingfisher East Bengal and Kuwait SC semi-final in 2013 which saw 50,000 spectators attend.

With expectation now high that Persija can reach the knockout stage, the-AFC.com caught up with club legend Bambang Pamungkas to find out the striker’s views on his side's chances in the continental competition.

The result sees the Vietnamese side retain their place at the top of the standings as they achieved their third clean-sheet in succession, although their achievements were somewhat dampened by the sending off of midfielder Ho Sy Sam.

In front of a noisy crowd of over 10,000 fans, Vava Yagalo had the first effort on goal for the visitors on five minutes, with Rezaldi Hehanusa also having a brace of shots from range on target.

But as the half wore on, Song Lam Nghe An began to take control with Ho Tuan Tai and Ho Khac Ngoc attempting to score from distance before Persija goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa gave away an opening just before the half hour after he was penalised for a six-second violation.

Although Song Lam Nghe An were unable to profit from the set-piece, just seven minutes after the restart Ho Tuan Tuai had a golden chance to open the scoring for the hosts, but the No 10 blazed his shot narrowly over when through on goal.

Ho Tuan Tuai then had a second chance shortly after when he beat the offside trap to collect Michael Olaha’ sublime chipped pass, but Persija goalkeeper Ardhiyasa was quick off his line to push the ball away at the feet of the striker.

And the home side’s frustration at the lack of an opener despite the lion’s share of play was further deepened, just after the hour mark, when midfielder Ho Sy Sam was dismissed for a second bookable offence and they were forced to play out the remainder of the match with 10 men.

The two sides will renew acquaintances next week in what is sure to be a passionate encounter at a heaving Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Persija were too hot for the Singaporeans to handle at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, with the hosts dominating from start to finish despite going down to 10 men early in the second half.

Simic solely focused on shots

The Croatian striker put Persija 1-0 up in the 12th minute at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, slamming Riko Simanjuntak’s cut back from the right under goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari to give the hosts the early initiative.

Rezaldi Hehanusa then doubled his side’s advantage four minutes before half time, cutting inside from the left wing before rifling home with his right foot from 20 yards.

Persija centre-back Jaime was dismissed for a second yellow card in just the 48th minute, but two more Simic strikes in the 74th and 86th minutes sandwiched a 77th-minute consolation for Tampines from Khairul Amri to ensure the 10 men left with all three points.

Next, Persija travel to Vietnam to take on Group H leaders Song Lam Nghe An FC, while Matchday 3 will also see Tampines host Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on March 6.