Visitors Binh Duong came into Wednesday's return fixture with a one goal advantage from the first leg in Vietnam and opened the scoring in Indonesia after Wander Luiz looped in a header for his fifth goal of the campaign just before half-time.

Makassar came roaring back in the second half, though, and an own-goal from Binh Duong's Ho Tan Tai followed by Aaron Evan's late strike three minutes before the end ensured a frantic finish.

However, the Vietnamese club were able to hold out and secure a place in the final phase of the ASEAN section of the AFC Cup tournament, advancing on the away goals after a 2-2 aggregate score.

Leading 1-0 from last week’s first leg, Binh Duong performed admirably throughout Wednesday's return fixture, as Wander Luiz’s fifth goal of the campaign in a 2-1 defeat ultimately helped set up a showdown with domestic rivals Hanoi FC who had beaten Ceres Negros FC a day earlier.

A second-half own goal and an Aaron Evans effort briefly gave Makassar a glimmer of hope, but it counted for nothing in the end as the Continental debutants bowed out following an impressive campaign.

Both of Hanoi’s strikes came in a stirring second-half display as the hard-fought success saw the Vietnamese side progress to the next phase of the competition for the first time since 2014 when, under the AFC Cup’s previous format, they reached the quarter-finals.

By way of contrast to Hanoi’s delight, the result represents the second time in the last three editions of the AFC Cup that Ceres have failed to safely navigate this particular stage of the competition.

The win allowed the Bangladesh club entry into the next round while breaking Minerva Punjab’s streak of five draws in the tournament. With Chennaiyin FC locking horns with Manang Marshyangdi in the other fixture, the match was of key consequence for the fate of Group E. Eventually, defender Saighani’s goal ensured the result of the other match mattered little.

Although Abahani head coach Mario Lemos had said his team would try to stop Minerva Punjab, the Bangladesh side didn’t shy away from attacking from the start.

The 27-year-old Van Quyet led by example, providing the assist for Pape Omar Faye's opener before scoring a vital second himself from close range.

Substitute Curt Dizon did pull one back for the visitors with five minutes remaining, but the hosts were able to see out the tie and secure a place in the next round of the tournament for the first time since 2014 when, under the AFC Cup’s previous format, they reached the quarter-finals.

The win, however, was not enough for Chennaiyin to finish as group winners, as Bangladesh's Abahani Limited Dhaka clinched top spot after beating Minerva Punjab 1-0 in the other Group E tie.

Hang Yuan came into the tie seeking to record their first points of their AFC Cup campaign but were forced to defend deep as Tai Po’s aggression.