The 2014 AFC Cup winners, Qadsia, needed a win in their final group game to secure second place and stand a chance of competing for the best runners-up ticket to the next round, whereas Al Suwaiq had already been eliminated from the competition.

Goalkeeper Hamad Al Khalidi was tested early on, when the Qadsia defence struggled to clear the ball away following a set-piece and Tiago Lopes tried to poke in from close range, but the Kuwaiti goalkeeper was well positioned and made the save.

The Lebanese side started on the front foot and had their first sight of goal within four minutes when Hussein Zein supplied a through ball for Mohammed Kdouh whose shot from a tight angle hit the side netting.

It was, however, the visitors from Bahrain who opened the scoring 10 minutes later. Sayed Mohamed advanced down the right and whipped a cross for Isa Abdulbari. The club captain rode highest to head home his third goal of the 2019 AFC Cup and put Malkiya in front.

Stadiums across the region will come to life with two encounters on Monday and four on Tuesday as seven teams from Groups A, B and C go into the final matchday of the group stage with dreams of joining Jordan's Al Jazeera in the West Asia Zonal Semi-Finals.

Tajikistan’s FC istiklol, India’s Chennaiyin FC and 4.25 SC of DPR Korea lead the way in Groups D, E and I respectively and further wins would edge them ever closer to the knockout rounds.

The winners of Groups G and H have already been decided but top spot remains open in Group F while five teams also have a chance of finishing as the highest-placed runners-up.

It has been a long and painful journey for Kaya FC's Mintah but, finally, after a brutal knee injury in May 2018, the 23-year-old striker made his impact on Continental club football with a stunning hat-trick on April 30 against Lao Toyota.

His first competitive goals since his long lay-off, last season's leading scorer prior to his injury insisted the setback to his burgeoning career only made him more determined to succeed.

Two-time ASEAN Zonal finalists Home United were 12 minutes away from entering the final round of Group H fixtures in the driving seat and then it all went wrong.

Leading 2-1 in Cibinong against PSM Makassar thanks to a brace from midfielder Hafiz that would have put them in pole position, the Singaporeans then conceded twice to not only put the Indonesians top of the standings in their place, but also punched their opponents' ticket to the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals.

Instead, Home United must now hope to claim the best second-placed side from the ASEAN Zone. To do so, they must not only defeat Kaya FC, but also hope their rivals, Becamex Binh Duong and Hanoi FC, drop points.