Uzbekistan captain Sherzodbek Karimov scored a fine solo effort to put his side ahead at the interval but turned from hero to villain as his error allowed Tahj Minniecon to equalise after 49 minutes.

“This match had everything and was very interesting for everybody,” said Ubaydullaev.

“But if we hadn’t made this very big mistake in the second half I think we would’ve won. Unfortunately, it was not the case.”

Karimov bobbed and weaved his way around three would-be tacklers on the left edge of the Australia penalty box before unleashing an unstoppable shot to give Uzbekistan the lead.

But the skipper lost concentration early in the second-half to allow Australia to draw level.

Minniecon dispossessed Karimov inside the area and showed good composure to slot the ball low beyond goalkeeper Doniyorjon Usmonov.

“It was a big mistake,” reiterated Ubaydullaev.

“He is not a defender and he thought he had more time than he did.”

Uzbekistan showed a considerable improvement from the opening match, when they defeated Jordan courtesy of a controversial second-minute penalty.

Ubaydullaev attributed the change to the tactics employed and to having more time to acclimatise to conditions in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

“We changed our tactics to have one forward instead of two and it worked and our players have now adapted to the conditions,” he added.

The Central Asians now share top spot in the standings with Australia on four points ahead of their final group fixture with Thailand.

Australia coach Jan Versleijen, meanwhile, was disappointed by the performance of his side, who must now claim at least a point in their third match with Jordan to reach the last eight.

“We did not play a good game, especially in the first half,” said the Dutchman.

“We had too many misplaced passes but the Uzbekistan defence was also very good.

“We didn’t really create any good chances to score. We were waiting for the ball to fall for us in the area and it didn’t happen.

“Now we still have to go to the third game to qualify.”

Versleijen admitted Australia were fortunate to emerge from the match with a point but is pleased they can now determine their own fate.

“It was important not to lose as we still have qualification in our own hands,” he added.