Yokohama F Marinos fought back from an early deficit to claim a 2-1 victory over visiting Al Ain in the opening leg of the Asian Champions League final on Saturday.
Harry Kewell's men will fly to the United Arab Emirates for the May 25 return leg in pole position for their club's maiden ACL title thanks to late goals from Asahi Uenaka and Kota Watanabe at International Stadium Yokohama.
The hosts had the best of the early exchanges and went close to an opener through Yan Matheus before Mohammed Al Baloushi stunned the home crowd by giving Hernan Crespo's side the lead on a 13th-minute counterattack.
Marinos keeper William Popp saved Soufiane Rahimi's initial attempt, but the rebound fell straight to Al Baloushi for a shot that Eduardo was unable to steer off the line.
The video assistant referee saved Popp's blushes in the 30th minute by ruling offside in the lead-up to a Matias Palacios goal scored through the keeper's hands.
With the lion's share of possession, the hosts turned the screws on the visiting former champions and should have equalized in first-half stoppage time when midfielder Nam Tae Hee pulled his shot wide from directly in front.
The J-League outfit continued to take the initiative in the second half and gained further momentum with the introduction of Watanabe and Ryo Miyaichi in the 61st minute.
They leveled in the 72nd minute, when Uenaka headed in off Matheus' cross, before continuing to press forward in search of another goal. It came 14 minutes later, when Miyaichi's attempt off another Matheus cross was steered home by Watanabe, with VAR upholding the goal.
First-year manager Kewell praised his players for keeping their cool after falling behind in a "tough" opening encounter.
"I feel we played well tonight. We created a lot of chances in our dangerous areas where we look to hurt teams," he said. "We got caught on the counter, which we knew (was) their threat but we kept our composure."
The former Australia international said his players will be prepared for a difficult second leg at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
"We know there's another game, so we can't get carried away," he said. "It's going to take everything from us to go over there and challenge these guys again."
Related coverage:
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