The three points ensured that the Singapore side maintained a three-point lead over second-placed Hanoi FC.

There was a dream start for the home side when they took the lead after three minutes. Zehrudin Mehmedovic played a perfectly weight pass into the path of Irwan Shah, who prodded the ball past Sou Yaty.

It’s been a week of celebrations in the Lao capital for Lao New Year and the home side was aiming to keep the celebrations going as they looked to end their 12-match winless run in the AFC Cup, a streak that dates back to 2016.

The celebrations continued early when the home side took a surprise lead, with Rafael heading home from Saison Khounsamnan’s corner in the 11th minute to give hope to Jun Fukuda and his team.

Having lost to the Myanmar champions in their previous Group F encounter two weeks ago, the Vietnamese side knew they had to collect all three points to keep alive their hopes of progressing from the group stage, a feat they haven’t achieved since 2014.

With that in mind the visitors made the perfect start when they took the lead in just the third minute when star midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai squared the ball across the box, allowing Pape Omar Faye a simple tap in at the back post.

The DPR Korea club went as far as the penultimate stage of the tournament last year, and following their 3-0 win away at Chinese Taipei’s Hang Yuan on Matchday One, they recorded a second successive victory against the visiting Hong Kong Premier League champions.

Khujand and Dordoi both failed to win their respective opening games in Group D two weeks ago, which only increased the pressure heading into the Matchday Two tie.

A vocal crowd backing the hosts saw Ergashev unleash a curling shot just over the bar in the opening minutes after dancing his way around two Dordoi defenders.

In what was a clash of Group H’s top two teams, the game handed the winners the chance to open up a three-point lead on the losers and in turn secure the potentially important better head-to-head record.

A handball by Kaya defender Jalsor Soriano opened the door for Makassar in the 14th minute but a well-worked free kick came to nothing as Muhammad Rachmat’s pass into the penalty area narrowly avoided finding Eero Markkanen just a few yards out from goal.

Unheralded Minerva came from nowhere to be crowned I-League champions for the first time in their history in 2017-18 after only gaining promotion to the top flight two seasons earlier.

That success granted them entry into the 2019 AFC Champions League’s qualifying rounds and, although they fell to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Saipa, the Punjab side were then placed into the AFC Cup’s South Zone group.