The home side made the perfect start to proceedings in their Group H encounter when Wiljan Pluim opened the scoring in just the 12th minute with a strong finish from just inside the area.

But no sooner had the celebrations in the stands died down than the visitors drew level. Kazuo Homma got on the end of a floated ball into the box and after getting the better of his two markers, fired off a shot that looped over Rivki Mokodompit thanks to a deflection from Aaron Evans.

Nejmeh captain Kassem El Zein nearly gifted Al Jaish the opening goal 10 minutes into the match, but the defender’s miscued clearance was headed just wide by Mohammed Al Wakid.

Nader Matar produced Nejmeh’s first chance of the match in the 21st minute, sending a long range shot that swerved at the last second, narrowly missing the target.

Both teams opted for a conservative approach, and as a result chances were few and far between in the first half.

Qadsia relied on the physical presence of Yousef Naser up front and repeatedly sent long balls to their frontman.

Ahmad Al Dhefiri came close with a spectacular volleyed effort from long distance after Naser set him up with a cushioned header, but Al Dhefiri’s attempt missed the target.