The hosts, making their debut in the competition’s group stage, dominated possession throughout and threatened their opposition on numerous occasion, but Jeje Lalpekhlua and company lacked concentration in front of goal.

Chennaiyin made their intentions clear with an early string of attacks, most notable was Eli Sabia’s header which somehow missed the target from close range eight minutes in.

The Nepalese side were playing in the AFC Cup for the first time, in fact it was the first time a Nepalese side had participated in the group stage of the AFC Cup, and they started brightly in front of a vocal home crowd at the ANFA Complex.

It was Chhiring Lopsang Gurung’s side who had the first chance of the game, but Bishal Rai saw his effort easily saved by Shahidul Alam.

The first chance of the match fell Istiklol’s way when skipper Fatkhullo Fatkhulloev exchanged a one-two with Ruslan Koryan before trying a curled finish from close range, but the Tajik midfielder failed to open his body enough and his strike ended up too central.

Fatkhulloev was again at the centre of Istiklol’s attacking play, delivering a whipped cross from a set-piece for Jalil Kimsanov who failed to direct his header from close range.

The hosts’ dominance continued and Koryan tested the goalkeeper from a direct free-kick, but Davit Kupatadze was alert to the danger and tipped it behind for a corner.

After a quiet opening quarter of an hour, Kairat Zhyrgalbek tried to find an opening for the Kyrgyz side, powering his way into the box, but he fired wide on the rebound after his initial shot was blocked by a defender.

Turkmenistan international Altymyrat Annadurdyyev responded minutes later for Altyn Asyr, cutting inside from the left and attempting a shot from a narrow angle at the near post, but his ball hit the wrong side of the netting.

With two points separating the two teams after the first two matches, the home side made the perfect start when Spaniard Marañon headed home from Martin Steuble’s inch perfect cross in just the ninth minute.

With neither side having registered a win in the first two matches, it was close enough to last chance saloon for both sides if they were to have any chance of progressing from Group G.

It was the home side who had the first chance of the game but Maycon couldn’t get the better of Binh Duong goalkeeper Tran Duc Cuong.

Nguyen Thanh Son's side then had a great chance after 16 minutes, but despite being played into space on the right-hand side, To Van Vu couldn’t direct his shot on target and the ball flashed across the front of goal and away from danger.

The visitors made a decent early opening when Igor Sartori’s low cross from the left found Sandro, but the striker couldn’t keep his shot down.

Hirokane Harima then had a good chance for the home side after a through pass from Jordi Tarres. But the striker’s tame effort lacked conviction and it was comfortably saved by Tai Po goalkeeper Tsang Man Fai.