Nguyen Thanh Son’s side needed a win to claim the best runners-up berth in the Asean Zonal Semi-finals but looked set to exit the competition as they struggled to find the back of the net against the already-qualified Filipinos.

But the Brazilian’s 88th minute strike – which saw him lift the ball over home goalkeeper Roland Muller with an audacious effort from almost 40 yards out – earned Binh Duong three points that ensured they squeezed past Singapore’s Tampines Rovers to stay alive in the competition.

Fernando headed in the winner in the 69th minute after Jordi Tarres had given Kitchee the lead only to see their advantage cancelled out 17 minutes into the second half by an own goal from Matthew Smith.

The win moves Alex Chu’s team into second place in Group I, six points behind leaders 4.25 SC from DPR Korea with two games remaining and the two clubs due to face off in a potentially crucial clash on Matchday Six.

A tight opening kept the teams levelled at half-time, but Yangon outlasted their visitors after the break, with Maung Maung Lwin breaking the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining, before Vinicius Miller scored a penalty kick to ensure Tin Maung Tun's side finished third in Group F.

On an occasion which saw an all-female refereeing team take charge of an AFC Cup fixture for the first time in competition history, the motivation for both sides was to avoid finishing on the bottom of a group that was being decided elsewhere.

Both sides finished level on 13 points from their six group games but Wednesday’s win – coupled with the 1-1 draw between the teams on Matchday Two – means Hanoi take first place in the group and advance to the ASEAN Zonal Semi-finals.

First half goals from Ganiyu Oseni and Nguyen Thanh Chung put Hanoi in an unassailable position and Yasir Hanapi’s sending off late in the opening 45 minutes left Tampines – who only needed a draw to win the group – with an impossible task.

The Group F tie ended with Yangon winning 2-0.

This was the first time three female referees officiated in the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) club competitions, marking a new milestone in Asian refereeing.

The Indian side were forced to play with 10 men in the second half after losing Prateek Joshi to a red card just before the half-time whistle.

Manang Marshyangdi began the first half well as they starved Minerva of possession but the Indian side looked effective whenever they got a chance with the ball.

Samuel was particularly impressive in the wings early on. His first attempt was thwarted by a diving tackle from Bishal Rai in the wings but in the eighth minute, he produced an impressive long range effort that came off the bar.

The win places the DPR Korea champions at the top of Group I with 12 points, and they will guarantee their place in the knockout stage if Kitchee SC fail to beat Hang Yuan FC in the day's later match.

4.25 came into the match high on confidence, having beaten Tai Po 3-1 in the reverse fixture two weeks ago, courtesy of Kim Yu-song's brace. And the No. 18 forward struck within the first three minutes at the Kim Il Sung Stadium to give his side an early lead.