Qatar’s Al Sailiya went down fighting to Tajikistan’s Shahr Khodro 4-5 on penalties in the 2020 AFC Champions League play-off at the Al Duhail Stadium on Tuesday.

The tie-breaker was enforced after the match was goalless at the end of regular time and extra time.

Shahr Khodro advanced to Group B, which includes Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor.

Qatar’s Al Sadd and Al Duhail, the top two teams in the 2018-19 QNB Stars League, had qualified directly for the group stage of Asia’s premier club competition.

Al Sailiya and Al Rayyan, the third and fourth-placed teams, went into play-off to be eligible to make it to the tournament proper.

Shahr Khodro qualified to play Al Sailiya after they defeated Bahrain’s Riffa 2-1 at the Sharajah Stadium in the preliminary round on 25th January.

It was for the first time that Al Sailiya were having a taste of the AFC Champions League after producing their best-ever finish in the Qatar League last season.

Goalkeeper Mahdi Rahmati was the hero for Shahr Khodro, producing a brilliant shoot-out save to deny countryman Karim Ansari before Saeid Sadeghi struck the decisive blow after more than 120 minutes of hard-fought action.

Chances came at both ends in the first half and Al Sailiya came out firing after the break, with Mahir Yusuf drawing a fine near post save from Rahmati in the 52nd minute, before Ansari struck the crossbar shortly after.

But despite those near misses, the decisive goal failed to materialise, giving each side 30 minutes of extra time to decide their AFC Champions League destiny.

After 120 scoreless minutes, both sides found their shooting boots from the penalty spot.