The Bangladeshi club surprised many on their way to the Inter-Zone Semi-finals and topped that when they, again against expectations, defeated DPR Korea's 4.25 SC 4-3 in last week's first leg in Dhaka.

The run, as far as head coach Mario Lemos is concerned, mustn't stop as he is dreaming of Abahani playing the Inter-Zone final on home soil despite 4.25's formidable AFC Cup record on home soil.

It was a match which saw the lead being exchanged before Abahani looked to have secured a comfortable 4-2 win only for 4.25 to pull one back ahead of the return leg in Pyongyang next week

“It was a good match, although, not so good for my heart. It was full of ups and downs.

"When we started the match, our game plan was slightly different. We put more men at the back and put Sunday (Nwadialu) and (Kervens) Belfort upfront for the counter-attack, something that they did well.”

After the dust settled on an exciting tie, 4.25 were denied the draw that O Yun-son had targeted but the head coach said he wasn't too worried about the result.

Showing the attacking quality that produced 12 goals in the group stage, the hosts did enough to win on the night at the Bangabandhu National Stadium but 4.25’s three away goals keep them well in contention going into next Wednesday’s second leg in Pyongyang

Sohel Rana and Choe Jong-hyok traded early wondergoals, but a quickfire brace from Abahani forward Sunday Chizoba Nwadialu looked to have the hosts on the road to a comfortable victory before 4.25 pulled back a late goal to stay within striking distance.

A thrilling first leg toed and froed before the ASEAN Zonal champions finally secured a 3-2 victory over their Central Asian Zone counterparts following a late Nguyen Van Quyet penalty.

But with two away goals in the bag and home advantage at Kopetdag Stadium, Altyn Asyr will be confident they have what it takes to progress to a second successive Inter-Zone Final.

Two away goals in Hanoi might ordinarily have been welcomed with open arms at this stage of the competition, but Nguyen Quang Hai’s scintillating brace and a late Nguyen Van Quyet penalty left the Turkmenistan champions a deficit to overturn in the return leg.

A veteran of Inter-Zone wins against India’s JSW Bengaluru FC and 4.25 SC of DPR Korea in his side’s charge to last year’s AFC Cup final, Geldiyev said that while losing late in Vietnam was a bitter pill to swallow, Altyn Asuyr remain well-placed to advance on home soil.

The Vietnamese team ran out 3-2 winners in last week’s first leg and will advance to the Inter-Zone Final if they avoid defeat in Turkmenistan, but should the hosts score in Ashgabat then Hanoi will also need to find the back of the net in a tie that remains firmly in the balance. 

While victory at Hang Day Stadium ensured Hanoi start the second leg with the advantage, a tally of 33 shots on goal to seven across the 90 minutes is evidence that they could have taken a much healthier lead to Central Asia.