It was the third draw in a row for 2018 AFC Cup runners-up Altyn Asyr, who had to hold firm in the second half, having had the better of the first 45 minutes.

Home’s Abdil Qaiyyim had the first chance of the game at the Pakansari Stadium in the eighth minute, flicking just wide off the near post from inside the six-yard box after an Izzdin Shafiq corner.

Guy Junior then fired Makassar’s first warning shot, slamming just off target in the 11th minute, before Muhammad Arfan curled another low effort just wide for the hosts one minute later.

Kaya needed all three points to maintain a realistic chance of progressing to the knockout round, and they started the brighter of the two sides in this clash at Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium, sending a couple of sighters off target inside the opening 10 minutes.

Lao failed to pay heed to those warnings, and after Jordan Mintah cut inside Ketsada Souksavanh in the 11th minute and broke into the penalty area there was only going to be one outcome, with the Ghanaian poking beyond goalkeeper Outthilath Nammakhoth to make it 1-0.

The two sides came into the fixture with a point separating them at the top of the group, with Al Ahed occupying the top spot with eight points.

It was the visitors who threatened first through Issah Yakubu whose long-range effort sailed just over the crossbar eight minutes into the match.

The two sides had met on Matchday One in Oman with Malkiya emerging 2-1 winners. Al Suwaiq have since lost all their fixtures while Malkiya added four more points to sit in third place going into Matchday Five.

A quiet first-half came to life at the half-hour mark as the hosts got a golden chance to take the lead.

Hashim Isa played a superb through ball to send Hasan Helal clear on goal. The number 10 attempted to slot the ball with the outside of his right foot, but goalkeeper Anwar Al Alawi dived down and made the save.

The six matches will take place across just three countries, with Tajikistan, India and Hong Kong each hosting a pair of games over the coming days.

Ahead of the Matchday Five fixtures, 10 of the sides remain in the hunt for top-two finishes and the chance of reaching the competition’s knockout stages.