Abahani beat Club Eagles of Maldives 2-1 in Sylhet today in their first qualifying match of the AFC Cup in Sylhet to move a step closer to the AFC Cup proper.

The six-time Bangladesh Premier League champions had two of their six foreign recruits to thank for for the victory, with forward Cornelius Stewart and defender Danilo Augusto scoring the two goals for the home side at the Sylhet District Stadium.

Stewart gave Mario Lemos's charges a 21st-minute lead with a powerful header on a cross from Ojukwu Ifegwu's perfectly-weighted cross. The Maldivian outfit, however, hit back on 63 minutes with Ahmed Rizuvan volleying home from Milovan Petrovic's free-kick.

Abahani, who were the first Bangladeshi club to progress to the inter-zonal semifinals of this competition in 2019, found the winning goal with one minute remaining of regulation time, with Augusto heading home from Muzaffarov's corner. 

Abahani will play on August 22 against the winners of the match between Macchindra FC and Mohun Bagan Super Giants for a place in the group-stage of Asia's second-tier club competition.