JEDDAH: Imad Khalili’s second half strike helped Al-Shabab secure three points in their away game against Iranian Esteghlal in a Group A match of the AFC Champions League match at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

In another match of the same group, UAE’s Al Jazira struck two early goals on the way to a 3-1 win over Qatar’s Al Rayyan.

In Doha, Qatar’s El Jaish were held by Iran’s Foolad Khouzestan, while Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fateh drew Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.

Former champions Ulsan Hyundai recovered from conceding an opening minute goal to outclass Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1 in their match on Wednesday.

The Wanderers, playing in their first ACL game, scored after just 42 seconds at home through Brendon Santalab after a delightful lob assist from Japanese star Shinji Ono.

But the South Koreans punished defensive mistakes for their three goals, to run out convincing winners ahead of the start of their domestic season.

Towering striker Kim Shin-Wook proved a handful for the Wanderers defense and rifled home the equalizer in the 35th minute after central defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley had failed the clear the ball inside the box.

The 2012 ACL champions hit the front after a crisply taken goal from winger Ko Chang-Hyun just before half time, after the home defense again failed to clear.

The Wanderers took the game to the Koreans after the resumption but could not get the equalizer before their third defensive mistake of the night was seized upon by defender Kang Min-Soo midway through the second half.

“We had a bright start with an early goal. It’s our first time at this level and we learnt some harsh lessons tonight,” Wanderers coach Tony Popovic said.

“Three mistakes and we got punished for three goals.

“We learned out of tonight that at this level you’ll be punished for any mistakes and we were punished tonight.” Ulsan host Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale at home in the next round on March 12, while the Wanderers are away to Guizhou Renhe in China.

Elsewhere, FC Seoul shrugged off the departure of two key players from their run to last year’s final as they dominated Central Coast Mariners for a 2-0 win at home.

An Osmar Barba penalty and a Yun Il-Lok strike sealed a straightforward win for Seoul, who lost midfielder Ha Dae-Sung to Group F rivals Beijing Guoan, and striker Dejan Damjanovic to Jiangsu Sainty.

Ha instantly showed his value to Beijing when he scored the first goal in their 1-1 draw away to Japan’s J-League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima.