Abdullah Al Attar scored inside the first five minutes before Feras Shelbaieh, Ahmad Al Essawi and Zaid Jaber netted in the second half to complete a 4-0 rout at Amman International Stadium on Tuesday.

Coming into the home second leg with a three-goal disadvantage, Al Jazeera were determined to show their fighting spirit from the get-go. And indeed, they started with a bang.

Within five minutes of the start, the Jordanians’ attacking intent was rewarded by an early goal. Feras Shelbaieh got on the end of a cross and sent it back across the mouth of goal first-time for Abdullah Al Attar who controlled, shielded the ball and fired into the roof of the net to put Al Jazeera in front.

Facing persistent attacks from the home side, Al Jaish slowly regrouped and tried to hit on the counter. Ahmad Ashkar led a swift attacking move, advancing into Al Jazeera’s box and firing from an angle, but goalkeeper Ahmad Abdelsattar made the save.

Al Jazeera were hopeful of taking home a result that could help them reach the West Zonal final for the second time running, but they faced the challenge of an Al Jaish side that had not lost in their last eight AFC Cup games.

The Jordanians started brightly and were in complete control for the first 25 minutes, threatening first through Abdullah Al Attar’s header which narrowly missed the target, then through Omar Al Manasrah’s long range strike.

The Lebanese champions had earned a hard-fought victory in Amman a week earlier thanks to Mohammad Kdouh’s strike, and a draw was all they needed on Monday to reach the Zonal Final for the first time in their history.

After a cagey start, Ahmad Zreik thought he had opened the scoring for the hosts halfway through the opening 45 minutes when he cut inside on his left foot and unleashed a powerful drive from 30 yards out that beat goalkeeper Abdallah Al Fakhouri. Luck was on the side of Al Wehdat goalkeeper as the ball bounced off the post and into his arms.

The win allowed the Bangladesh club entry into the next round while breaking Minerva Punjab’s streak of five draws in the tournament. With Chennaiyin FC locking horns with Manang Marshyangdi in the other fixture, the match was of key consequence for the fate of Group E. Eventually, defender Saighani’s goal ensured the result of the other match mattered little.

Although Abahani head coach Mario Lemos had said his team would try to stop Minerva Punjab, the Bangladesh side didn’t shy away from attacking from the start.

Altyn, the 2018 AFC Cup runners-up, took a 1-0 lead at the start of the second half, but conceded through an Istiklol set-piece before weathering a late charge by their opponents to share the spoils at the Central Republican Stadium.

Leading 1-0 from last week’s first leg, Binh Duong performed admirably throughout Wednesday's return fixture, as Wander Luiz’s fifth goal of the campaign in a 2-1 defeat ultimately helped set up a showdown with domestic rivals Hanoi FC who had beaten Ceres Negros FC a day earlier.

A second-half own goal and an Aaron Evans effort briefly gave Makassar a glimmer of hope, but it counted for nothing in the end as the Continental debutants bowed out following an impressive campaign.