Brothers remained at the bottom of Group A with two points but for Muharraq, who had won their home match against the men in orange in Amman 2-0, the draw was good enough to seal them a place in the quarterfinals as group winners.

Muharraq, who play second-placed Al Ahed on the sixth and final match day, took an unassailable lead with 11 points after Lebanese club Al Ahed's 2-1 loss to Mahindra United away in India also on Tuesday.

Muharraq, who carried a second-string side to Dhaka with only three players from the first team, created ample scoring chances but Brothers goalkeeper Aminul Haque made a series of saves in the first-half to deny the Bahraini champions.

However, it seemed that Salah Alyaqoob's 54th minute freekick had crossed the line when Aminul gripped the ball but the home side got the benefit of doubt from the referees.

Brothers, boosted by the return of captain and national centre-back Mohammad Sujan and fullback Feroz Mahmud Titu from injuries, packed their defence with five players and had two great chances on the break. But striker Emily, who lobbed the ball over an onrushing goalkeeper Abdulaziz Buhajeeh from just outside the area, saw his 35th-minute effort run harmlessly across the open net. Two minutes later, Masud Rana's centre came off the sidebar much to the relief of the visitors.

Brothers, who were a bit attacking in the first hour, went on the defensive and Al Muharraq came close to scoring nine minutes from time. But Fahad Hasan's long-range shot was parried by a diving Aminul.

"Yes we are happy, because we have put an end to the losing streak. But we could have won had Emily or Masud Rana utilised two good chances," said Brothers coach Wajed Gazi after the match.

"We were defensive because the opponents were stronger. I hope we play better in our next match against Mahindra," he added.