"Our team dominated possession for most of the game and created most of the chances, especially in the first half we had three or four chances to go ahead. It was a continuous grind, to come back from the equaliser and get the winner."

Johor Darul Ta'zim defender La'Vere Corbin-Ong on the Malaysian side's 2-1 defeat of Tampines Rover in Malaysia.

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Safawi Rasid opened the scoring in style for the hosts at the Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium, rifling home a piledriver from distance after being fed by Subramaniam Kunalan in the 13th minute.

Ryutaro Megumi fired a warning shot for Tampines three minutes before half time though, and from the resultant corner La’Vere Corbin-Ong handled to gift the visitors a penalty, which Khairul Amri gleefully converted in the 45th minute.

Ahmad Hazwan sealed all three points for Johor Darul Ta’zim 11 minutes from time though, clipping home a first time finish with his left foot after being played in behind by a delicious Natxo Insa through-ball.

The victory enabled Johor Darul Ta’zim to keep pace with Song Lam Nghe An of Vietnam and Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta on seven points, while Tampines prop up the group with just one.

Both teams will be on the road for their next matches on April 10, when Johor Darul Ta’zim travel to Jakarta while Tampines are away to Song Lam Nghe An.

 

Roared on by a passionate home support, Persija had the better of the opening stages but struggled to create any clear-cut chances, with striker Marko Simic’s header over the bar from Ismed Sofyan’s cross the closest they came in the first 30 minutes.

As the half wore on, the game was being played almost entirely in the Song Lam Nghe An half and it was Simic who looked the most likely as the big Croatian curled over as the interval approached, before Riko Simanjuntak had a goal ruled out for offside just minutes later.

Persija continued to apply the pressure after the restart and substitute Addison’s left-foot effort was well saved by goalkeeper Le Quang Dai, before the forward had an effort ruled out for handball soon after.

Simic’s header from Rezaldi Hehanusa’s corner was cleared off the line and the forward came close once more when he headed Addison’s cross from the left agonisingly wide.

Bambang Pamungkas was then introduced with 12 minutes remaining as the hosts went all out for the win and the striker’s looping header was pushed over by Quang Dai in the 85th minute.

The visitors could have snatched a smash-and-grab goal as the clocked ticked down but Ho Tuan Tai curled just wide with two minutes remaining as the draw seemed the inevitable outcome.

But Persija then won it in the most dramatic of fashion when Addison volleyed home a superb effort from the right side of the area in the third minute of added time after Hehanusa’s long ball over the top to send the stadium into raptures.

The win moves Persija above Song Lam Nghe An by virtue of a better head-to-head record, with the Indonesian side to host Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on Matchday Five, when the Vietnamese team play Singapore’s Tampines Rovers in Vinh.

 

The visitors started the brighter of the two teams at Thuwunna Stadium as they almost effortlessly passed the ball around, and were gifted the chance to open the scoring when Win Hein Phyo handled the ball in the box, with Spanish striker Maranon making no mistake from the resulting spot-kick to give the visitors the lead.

Risto Vidakovic’s side continued to dominate as the home side struggled to retain possession and create any meaningful attacks.

Manuel Ott should’ve doubled the lead on the hour mark when Maranon dinked a left-footed cross into the path of an on-rushing Ott, but the midfielder pulled his shot wide.

Ceres wasted another glorious chance to double their lead 20 minutes later when Stephan Schrock slid the ball across the box for OJ Porteria, but with an open net at his mercy the substitute could only hit his shot into the post, with his follow-up effort well saved by Phone Thitsar Min.

But the solitary goal was enough for Ceres to take all three points and retain their spot atop Group F.

 

Dhofar started on the attack as Hugo Lopez's header in the eighth minute was saved by Al Faisaly's goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaiba.

Al Faisaly responded quickly through Yasser Al Rawashdeh in the 16th minute, but his header from close range missed the target by a narrow margin. Al Rawashdeh came close to scoring again from a difficult angle, but his effort went just wide.

Five minutes before the half time whistle, Dhofar managed to break the deadlock as Khalil Al Darmaki snatched the ball before Al Faisaly's defenders could react and sent an accurate pass to Said who slotted into the bottom left corner.

The Jordanian side increased their work rate in order to level things but Alban Meha's shot from inside the box ended on the wrong side of the post in the 68th minute. The two-time AFC Cup winners pushed for an equaliser, but the Omanis managed to hold on to their lead, securing the team's first win in the competition.

Despite the win, Dhofar remain in Group C's last spot with four points ahead of their away clash against Lebanon's Al Ansar. Meanwhile, Al Faisaly stayed top of the group with seven points and will face Syria's Al Wahda on Matchday Five.

 

Al Wahda attacked from the start as Bassel Moustafa looked to add to his three goals in the competition, but his sixth minute effort was saved by goalkeeper Rabea El Kakhi. Al Ansar responded just five minutes later through Tall who watched as his shot was parried away by Al Wahda's Khaled Ibrahim.

The home side continued to push for a goal as Alaa El Baba's shot from outside the box went wide in the 34th minute. Just three minutes before the half time whistle, Abbas Atwi came close to opening the scoring for Al Ansar but his placed shot missed the target by a narrow margin as the two sides headed into the break goalless.

The second half started with a bang as Tall received Atwi's through pass and curled it from the edge of the box into the back of Ibrahim's net, to hand Al Ansar the lead and earn the Senegalese a goal for the third game running.

The Lebanese side continued to dominate and had a golden chance to double their lead in the 75th minute when El Baba beat the goalkeeper with an angled effort but saw his attempt cannon off the crossbar to limit Al Ansar's win to a single goal at the final whistle.

Al Ansar avenged their 2-1 defeat to Al Wahda on Matchday Three and moved past them into second place with six points with a home fixture against group bottom Dhofar next up for them. Meanwhile, Al Wahda stayed at five points in third place and will pay hosts to Jordan's Al Faisaly on Matchday Five.