Senegalese forward Andre Senghor fired Baniyas ahead after 13 minutes and substitute Amer Abdulrahman added a second against the Uzbek club after the interval to help the UAE Pro League side to join group winners Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in the knockout rounds.

"It was a good game for us today as we scored a goal in each half to secure the result that we wanted and we achieved our target in the competition by going through to the next round," said Baniyas coach Gabriel Calderon, who will lead his side against his former club, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, in the Round of 16 next Wednesday.

"It was not an easy match because Pakhtakor are a strong team and they gave us a hard time. However, our players knew how to get the win and now we will concentrate on the next match against Al Hilal."

Baniyas went into the match with a one-point edge over the visiting side following their 4-0 drubbing of Al Arabi in Doha two weeks ago.

And they made an excellent start at the Baniyas Club Stadium, taking the lead after only 13 minutes when Senghor chested down Fawzi Bashir's cross from the left before firing a powerful shot past Pakhtakor goalkeeper Temur Juraev.

The visitors needed a win to progress but they struggled to create any real opportunities before they fell two goals behind in the 71st minute

Spanish midfielder Francisco Yeste initiated a quick counter attack and brought the ball in from the right flank before sending a low cross into the path of Abdulrahman, who tapped the ball into the net from close range.

Pakhtakor have appeared in all 10 editions of the AFC Champions League but they have only progressed beyond the group stage on four occasions.

"It was disappointing to lose today as we were hoping to get a good result to remain in the competition," said their coach Dejan Durdevic.

"The players gave their best and we created a lot of chances especially in the second half but we were not lucky. Baniyas had a good game today as they managed to score from the chances that they had and they did what we couldn't do."