Hamza Karimov, Rustam Kadyrov, Batyr Kadyrkulov and Siarhey Krot were all on target in the opening 45 minutes as the Uzbeks cruised to a convincing victory.

Having won the reverse fixture 4-0 in Lebanon thanks to two goals each from Krot and Ilhom Shamuradov, the visitors were not expected to pose too many problems and so it proved as Nasaf did all the damage in a relentless opening period.

Karimov opened the scoring after just eight minutes when he collected the ball in the box and smashed it into the far corner beyond Al Ahed keeper Mohamad Hammoud.

Seven minutes later, it was 2-0 when Kadyrkulov delivered a dangerous cross into the box that Kadyrov met with a header that flew into the net as Hammoud was beaten for the second time.

Nasaf further extended their lead in the 23rd minute as Krot instigated an attack by finding Shamuradov with a precise pass and he crossed for Kadyrkulov to head home.

And the hosts completed the scoring five minutes before the break when Bahodyr Murtazaev beat two defenders and burst into the penalty area but instead of taking the opportunity to score himself, squared the ball for Krot and the Belorussian applied the finish.

With a comfortable four-goal advantage, Nasaf were content not to over-extend themselves in the second period while Al Ahed failed to trouble the home side’s goal in any discernible way.

The most notable moment came for the hosts 10 minutes before the final whistle when Kadyrkulov saw his shot hit the crossbar in an otherwise uneventful second 45 minutes.

Nasaf duly closed out the game to collect the three points and with it almost guarantee themselves a place in the last 16 of the AFC Cup.