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.

Hanoi FC's previous AFC Cup 2019 meeting with Naga World was a tie the Cambodian side will want to quickly forget: A heavy 10-0 defeat on Matchday One that was among the tournament's largest-ever margins of victory.

However, the return game at Phnom Penh Olympic Centre Stadium could be a tighter affair with Hanoi FC coach Chu Dinh Nghiem announcing he will be without the services of four Vietnam internationals.

Forward pair Nguyen Van Quyet and Nguyen Van Dai, midfielder Do Hung Dung and goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung are all ruled out.

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.

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.

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.

With Oman's Al Suwaiq the only side to have officially been eliminated from the competition, we will be a step closer to finding out which four West Asian sides reach the knock-out stages by the end of the six Matchday Five fixtures across Groups A, B and C on Monday and Tuesday.