Thailand's BG Pathum United are through to the semi-finals of the Asean Club Championship or Shopee Cup as Group A winners after edging Malaysia's Terengganu FC 4-3 in a thrilling contest at the BG Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Rabbits went behind to an Akhyar Rashid goal in Anthony Hudson's first game in charge, but Raniel Santana's quick fire double followed by Gakuto Notsuda and Ilhan Fandi goals ensured a BG Pathum win despite Terengganu threatening a late comeback through a Safawi Rasid brace in the stoppage time.
BG Pathum finished their group stage campaign with 11 points from five matches -- one point ahead of second-placed PSM Makassar of Indonesia.
They will now face runners-up from Group B while PSM Makassar take on Group B winners Cong An Hanoi from Vietnam in April's two-leg last-four fixtures.
The hosts thought they had opened the scoring only after seven minutes into the match, when Ikhsan Fandi turned home a cross from Surachat Sareepim but the goal was ruled out for a tight off-side.
The Rabbits went close again five minutes later but were denied by the woodwork this time as Surachat set up Raniel for a fierce strike from inside the box.
The late fightback by the Malaysian Super League side was not enough to help them qualify as they crashed out of the competition by finishing fourth with seven points -- level on points with third-placed PKR Svay Rieng of Cambodia and three behind runners-up PSM.
In the other two matches, PKR Svay Rieng defeated Myanmar's Shan United 4-2 while the PSM Makassar trounced Dong A Thanh Hoa FC of Vietnam 3-0.
Angels eye three points
In this weekend's Thai League 1 games, second-ranked Bangkok United have a chance to get closer to leaders Buriram United as they take on relegation-threatened Rayong at home tonight.
While the Angels will be hoping for a victory, Rayong will be eager for a draw to keep their chances of staying in the top-flight alive.