The midfielder was at his inspirational best at Hang Day Stadium, levelling the score at 1-1 with a sumptuous free-kick after the visitors had taken and early lead through Murat Yakshiyev that stunned the home support.

Quang Hai then produced another moment of magic just after the hour, evading three defenders before curling home with aplomb with a goal that was arguably even better than his first.

Altyn Asyr equalised almost immediately, although Hanoi got the win they will feel their performance deserved when substitute Nguyen Van Quyet finished from the spot with two minutes to play after Do Hung Dung had been upended in the box.

Two superb goals from Nguyen Quang Hai looked to have gone to waste when Altymyrat Annadurdyyev’s equaliser brought the visitors level in the second half, but substitute Van Quyet netted the winning spot-kick in the 88th minute to give the Vietnamese champions a slight edge in the two-legged tie.

The result leaves the tie finely balanced ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg in Ashgabat, with the winners to advance to next month’s Inter-Zone Play-off Final.

The South and East Zonal winners face off in the first leg at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday and the Abahani players are raring to continue from where they left off in the group stage.

The six-time Bangladesh Premier League champions advanced with a record of four wins, one draw and one defeat to reach their first AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semi-final and striker Nabib Newaj Ziban said this has whetted their appetite for more success.

It may be a first meeting between the two sides but O said his team's lack of familiarity isn't a concern as 4.25 are confident of their abilities.

The DPR Korea side's AFC Cup pedigree is unquestionable as this is their third consecutive appearance in the Inter-Zone Semi-finals, a record which puts them on a firm footing against an Abahani side making their first appearance at this stage of the tournament.

The two teams go head-to-head in the first leg at Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday with head coach Mario Lemos saying six-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani determined to continue their fairy-tale run in the AFC Cup.

It is the first time a club from Bangladesh has progressed to the AFC Cup's Inter-Zone Semi-finals but Lemos said they are not yet satisfied.

Elsewhere, Vietnam's league leaders Hanoi FC made it three wins in a row while there were big wins for the top two in Cambodia as we delve into our weekly wrap of the ASEAN Zone's domestic leagues.

While there were several upsets in the region, the Uzbekistan Super League largely went to form as FC Pakhtakor and PFC Lokomotiv both picked up wins, while Turkmenistan’s main title challengers made winning starts in domestic cup quarter-final ties.