The first legs of the West Zone and ASEAN Zone playoffs for the AFC Cup 2018 saw intense action this week. Let's take a look at what happened in the tournament:
1) ASEAN Zone Playoff 1st Leg: Boeung Ket FC 3-3 Lao Toyota FC:
Lao Toyota FC pulled off a thrilling comeback to secure a 3-3 draw away to Cambodia's Boeung Ket at Phnom Penh in the first leg of the ASEAN Zone Playoffs, despite being 3-1 down with 11 minutes to go. Rogerio Maycon gave Boeung Ket the lead int he sixth minute before Kazuo Homma drew Toyota level. However, Maycon restored the home team's lead before Khuon Laboravy made it 3-1.
Just as it seemed that the Cambodian team was in charge of the first leg, Frederic Pooda pulled one back in the 79th minute. Kazuo then set the stage for a grand stand finish as he scored his second of the night three minutes from full time. But there would be no winner on the night.
2) West Zone Playoff 2nd Leg: Al Suwaiq 1-1 Hilal Al Quds Club (Aggr: 2-1):
Oman's Al Suwaiq advanced to the group stages of the AFC Cup 2018 after a 2-1 aggregate win over Palestine's Hilal Al Quds Club. They drew the second leg in Muscat 1-1 and went through courtesy of a first leg 1-0 win.
Mohammed Yamin gave Hilal Al Quds a dream start with a 19th-minute goal. However, Abdulaziz Al Muqbali restored Al Suwaiq's advantage in the 69th minute and Hilal Al Quds hopes of advancing were dashed when Tamer Seyam was shown a second yellow card. Al Suwaiq will play in Group A alongside two-time defending champions Air Force Club of Iraq, Bahrain's Malkiya Club and Al Jazeera of Jordan.
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