On Wednesday, things threatened to unravel early on as the Sailors suffered an early blow in the 14th minute when the mecurial Maxime Lestienne was stretchered off.
However, the home side looked hungry, and they created the first clear-cut chance of the game, only for Lennard Thy to head over after a good cross from the left.
But Thy would make no mistake in the 20th minute, cushioning an excellent pass from substitute Shawal Anuar and arrowing a shot into the bottom corner.
While Sailors’ custodian Izwan Mahmud was largely untroubled early on, he was called into action midway through the first half and responded with a smart save from a Shuto Nakano effort.
The away side would restore parity in the 35th minute though, as Yotaro Nakajima bent a superb freekick into the bottom corner with Izwan stranded.
And while the Japanese side threatened, a combination of solid defending and wayward finishing kept them at bay.
They almost got their second just three minutes into the second half but Satoshi Tanaka’s shot clipped the post.
