Playing in front of their home fans at the Spartak Stadium, Dordoi marched to a commanding position in the first half itself with two goals.

They then returned to snuff out any hopes of a Khujand comeback with another goal in the second half to finish their campaign on a high.

Altyn, the 2018 AFC Cup runners-up, took a 1-0 lead at the start of the second half, but conceded through an Istiklol set-piece before weathering a late charge by their opponents to share the spoils at the Central Republican Stadium.

The 1-0 defeat – 4.25’s first in six outings – nevertheless saw the Koreans retain their position at the top of the Group I standings, and they will now line-up alongside the winners of the ASEAN, Central and South in the next stage of the competition having performed superbly throughout the group stage.

The result, meanwhile, left Kitchee to reflect on what could have been after a campaign in which they garnered three wins and a draw en route to finishing five points behind their table-topping opponents.

After a slow start to proceedings at the Mong Kok Stadium, 4.25 fashioned the first genuine opportunity of the match when Pak Myong-song fired a free-kick narrowly wide of the target with 12 minutes on the clock.

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.

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 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.

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.