Somchai Sabperm's side knew they were in for a tough job to make it through to the next round, given that only group winners qualify.

Fans turned up in sizeable numbers at the venue to witness the sides' debuts in the continent's top-flight competition, equivalent of Uefa's Champions League, and create a lively atmosphere that fits the event.

Most of the action in the first-half was in the middle of the park. The first meaningful chance, in a largely uneventful game, arrived just before half an hour when

the home side survived a major scare.

Striker Santos found space and time in the box after being set up by Song Jung-hyun. The Brazilian forward's effort was parried into the path of Kim Tae-su who sent the rebound crashing against the post. The danger remained as the ball fell to Sandro Cardoso, who contrived to miss a header from eight yards out, with a goal seeming there for the taking.

After the interval, the home side's situation improved with some changes in their tactics. Four minutes into the half, Suriya Domtaisong strode to a promising position before dispatching an 18-yard effort straight at goalie Yeom Dong-gyun.

The rest of the game Bangkok University managed to take control of possession, but failed to find a breakthrough sufficient to win the match.

"I'm quite satisfied with the result. In the early phases, the lads appeared nervous and that caused a few stutters. When my team finally settled into the match, they showed that they could compete with the South Koreans," said Somchai, the Bangkok University coach.

In the group's other match, Indonesia's Arema Malang suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Japan's Kawasaki Frontale.

In Shanghai, Australia's Sydney FC stunned China's Shanghai Shenhua with two spectacular first-half strikes in a 2-1 upset win the Group E match yesterday.

Sydney will next host Japanese powerhouse Urawa Reds on March 21 and Shanghai Shenhua are away to Indonesia's Persik Kediri.

In Saitama, Urawa Reds eased past Persik Kediri 3-0 with first-half strikes from Nobuhisa Yamada and Yuichiro Nagai and a third from Shinji Ono 15 minutes from time wrapping up the win.

Former Asian champions Seongnam Chunma of South Korea started their campaign with a 4-1 win over Dong Lam Long An of Vietnam, battling through a blizzard to post a solid victory.

Defending champions Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea, who beat Syria's Al Karama in the final last year, have a bye to the quarter-finals in September.

Later, Al Ittihad of Syria were up against Iranian outfit Sepahan while United Arab Emirates giants Al Ain were to face Saudi side Al Shabab; Qatari outfit Al Rayyan were at home to Al Wahda and Saudi side Al Hilal were due to meet Al Kuwait.