Thailand's Buriram United booked their berth in the AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage despite having to settle for a 2-2 draw with Gwangju on Tuesday night.
The Thunder Castle let slip a 2-0 first half lead after the break but the stalemate was enough to take them up to 12 points, assuring them of a top eight finish in the East Zone.
With qualification to the next phase already in the bag, a much-changed Gwangju took the field, a situation that Buriram took full advantage of early on.
Suphanat Mueanta was played into space on the right in the 13th minute and the Thailand international's cutback was perfect for Guilherme Bissoli to sweep home from the centre of the penalty box to put Buriram ahead.
The Thai League 1 champions struck again in the 35th minute when Bissoli fed Martin Boakye to net with a powerful first-time finish and Osmar Loss' side went into the break comfortably ahead.
The chance the hosts Gwangju had been waiting for came in the 68th minute when they finally produced a moment of quality as Asani's cutback was finished off by Oh Hu-Seong to raise hopes of a comeback.
The Korean club levelled the score six minutes later when a Reis free-kick was only cleared into the path of Oh Hu-Seong, whose half volley took a deflection that wrong-footed Neil Etheridge to find the back of the net for a share of the points.
Buriram coach Osmar said: "Although we were leading 2-0 and conceded twice in the second half, both teams can celebrate moving into the knockout stage.
"Tactically, we had two different halves; we could manage the game and score, but in the second half, Gwangju pressed us and we faced problems with it, and it made the game difficult for us. They managed to control the flanks and this was the key."
Meanwhile, Thailand will play their last Group D match of the AFC U20 Asian Cup against Syria in Shenzhen, China, at 2pm (Thai time) Thursday.
Thailand have already been eliminated from the group stage after two straight losses to Japan and South Korea.
The Thunder Castle let slip a 2-0 first half lead after the break but the stalemate was enough to take them up to 12 points, assuring them of a top eight finish in the East Zone.
With qualification to the next phase already in the bag, a much-changed Gwangju took the field, a situation that Buriram took full advantage of early on.
Suphanat Mueanta was played into space on the right in the 13th minute and the Thailand international's cutback was perfect for Guilherme Bissoli to sweep home from the centre of the penalty box to put Buriram ahead.
The Thai League 1 champions struck again in the 35th minute when Bissoli fed Martin Boakye to net with a powerful first-time finish and Osmar Loss' side went into the break comfortably ahead.
The chance the hosts Gwangju had been waiting for came in the 68th minute when they finally produced a moment of quality as Asani's cutback was finished off by Oh Hu-Seong to raise hopes of a comeback.
The Korean club levelled the score six minutes later when a Reis free-kick was only cleared into the path of Oh Hu-Seong, whose half volley took a deflection that wrong-footed Neil Etheridge to find the back of the net for a share of the points.
Buriram coach Osmar said: "Although we were leading 2-0 and conceded twice in the second half, both teams can celebrate moving into the knockout stage.
"Tactically, we had two different halves; we could manage the game and score, but in the second half, Gwangju pressed us and we faced problems with it, and it made the game difficult for us. They managed to control the flanks and this was the key."
Meanwhile, Thailand will play their last Group D match of the AFC U20 Asian Cup against Syria in Shenzhen, China, at 2pm (Thai time) Thursday.
Thailand have already been eliminated from the group stage after two straight losses to Japan and South Korea.
