BG Pathum United moved up to the top spot in Group A after a 4-1 away win over Myanmar's Shan United at the Thuwunna Stadium in the Asean Club Championship (Shopee Cup) on Wednesday night.
Moussa Bakayoko gave the home side a surprise lead at the half-hour mark before Freddy Alvarez levelled from the spot for BG Pathum just after an hour.
Reniel put the visitors in front with a little over 10 minutes to play before a stoppage-time double from substitute Nattawut Suksum completed the scoring, leaving Pathum's qualification hopes in their own hands while confirming Shan's elimination.
"We conceded early and that made it hard for our team because the players were exhausted from the domestic league games. However, we made some changes and sent on some fresh legs during the second half and got four goals back," said BG interim coach Supachai Komsilp.
"We have to focus on each game and see which players are ready because we have many tournaments to play. I will try to select players who are most ready physically for each game," he added.
In the other two Group A matches, Malaysia's Terengganu edged Indonesia's PSM Makassar 1-0 while Vietnam's Dong A Thahn Hoa drew 0-0 with Cambodia's PKR Svay Rieng.
BG Pathum will host second-placed Terengganu in their final group match on Feb 5 knowing that a win will guarantee their place in the semi-finals.
Shan, meanwhile, will round off their campaign away to PKR Svay Rieng on the same day.
Tough for Thai boys
Thailand have been handed a challenging draw in the AFC U17 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia after being grouped with the host team, Uzbekistan, and China in Group A.
The 16 teams have been divided into four groups of four, with the top two sides advancing to the quarter-finals.
Group B sees defending champions Japan being challenged by Australia, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates while South Korea will square off against Yemen, Afghanistan and Indonesia in Group C.
Top seeds Iran can expect stiff resistance from Tajikistan, Oman and North Korea in Group D.
The tournament will be held from April 3-20. The top eight finishers will also earn spots in the qualifying round of the Fifa U17 World Cup Qatar 2025 -- the first edition of the newly expanded 48-team tournament.
