Riding high from their thumping 5-2 win over Yangon United in their previous match, the visitors took time to settle and it was the home side who had the first real opportunity of the game as Anderson Zogbe failed to direct his effort on target from Khim Borey’s corner.

Hanoi came into the game as the half went on and star striker Pape Omar Faye had two chances to open the scoring, but saw one effort deflected while he had an air swing on the other.

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.

With Ceres Negros having already sealed top spot in the group, Binh Duong must now aim for a best runners-up spot. Meanwhile, Persija’s chances of progress in the tournament were ended as they slumped to a third successive defeat.

Victor Mansaray’s direct run had the Persija defence backpedaling in the eighth minute but the American’s shot from 18 yards was straight at Andritany Ardhiyasa.

Holding a five point lead coming into the match, the Filipino side knew a win would guarantee top spot in the group, and given the Myanmar side had yet to register a point in this year’s competition, Risto Vidakovic’s side had reason to be confident.

They showed that confidence early on as they immediately took control of the game, with Mike Ott having a good chance after 13 minutes that was deflected out for a corner.

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 visitors stunned the home crowd by opening the scoring after just three minutes. Son Phyong-il made a surging run down the left and his cross was perfect for Kim Yu-song to attack and head home.

It was almost 2-0 four minutes later but Rim Chol-min couldn’t find the target with a header from Ri Hyong-jin’s cross.