Jordan’s Al Jazeera thought they had won it when they scored with two minutes to go, but they were clawed back with effectively the last kick of the ball to settle for a repeat of their Matchday One draw against Iraq’s Air Force Club.

The Jordanians took the attacking initiative in the first half and were denied an early goal when Oday Al Jafal’s free-kick was cleared away by a defensive header inside the first 15 minutes.

Noor Al Rawabdeh looked to surprise goalkeeper Fahd Talib with a long range effort 10 minutes before the half-time break, but his effort was blocked by the Iraqi defenders.

The crowd at Irbid’s Al Hassan Stadium erupted as Al Jazeera scored late into the match. Ahmed Al Essawi rose highest to head home Mohannad Al Solaiman’s cross from the right flank to put the Jordanians in front with two minutes to go.

The reigning AFC Cup champions fought back and equalised in a similar fashion. Humam Tareq delivered an in-swinging free-kick that was headed by substitute Amjed Radhi past goalkeeper Ahmad Nawwas in the third minute of added time to end the game level.

Al Jazeera’s dream AFC Cup debut continues as they extend their undefeated spell to five games to retain top spot in the group with 11 points. 

Air Force’s title defence, meanwhile, is still on as they keep the three-point gap in second place with eight points and a game in hand.

The hosts thought they had taken an early lead when Mahmoud Al Mushaifri found space down the right-hand side to cross for Muhsen Al Ghassani, whose first-time effort cannoned off the post in the 11th minute to the dismay of the home crowd.

Instead, it was the Bahraini visitors who broke the deadlock a minute later in an identical fashion. Hashim Isa showed composure to finish Waleed Abdulrahman’s cross from the right wing for his third goal of the 2018 AFC Cup.

Al Suwaiq slowly grew into the match but needed until the hour-mark to get their equaliser when Abdulaziz Al Maqbali embarked on a jinking run to make his way past three Malkiya defenders before his fellow Omani international Khaled Al Hajri latched onto the ball and applied a composed finish to equalise for the hosts.

An off-the-ball challenge from Al Suwaiq’s Omar Al Fazari saw the Omanis reduced to 10 men after the midfielder was shown the red card in the 65th minute.

Malkiya took advantage of their numerical superiority and grabbed the winner in the final minute of regular time after Syrian midfielder Israa Hamwia was brought down inside the box. Hamwia stepped up and converted from the spot to earn the Bahraini side their second win of the campaign.

The Myanmar side were made to work for the win after a brilliant start from the visitors, but slowly they worked their way back into the game and came away with a deserved win.

The score-line suggests a comfortable three points for the visitors, but the margins were finer than appears and Abahani needed a little luck to help them on their way.

Despite being a game which on the surface appeared heavily one-sided, only a Fatkhullo Fatkhulloev strike ended up separating the two sides. But for a few inches, Alay striker Amredin Sharifi could well have produced a late goal to level proceedings.

Istiklol's attacking profligacy made a contest of what should have been a comfortable 90 minutes for the hosts.