Abahani once again failed to move into the AFC Cup group stage following a 3-1 defeat against Mohun Bagan Super Giants at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The six-time Bangladesh Premier League winners, who had become the first Bangladeshi club to progress to the inter-zonal semifinals in 2019, conceded three goals after taking an early lead against the Kolkata giants.

Abahani coach Mario Lemos made four changes from the match that beat Club Eagles of Maldives last week, bringing on Shqahidul Alam Sohel, Shushanto Tripura, Asaduzzaman Bablu and Youssef Mohammed.

Cornelius Stewart gave the Sky Blues a 17th minute lead, poking home a rebound after Mohun Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith fluffed Emeka Ogbugh's shot.

The Mariners, though, put on tremendous pressure on the visitors, earning a spot kick in the 35th minute which Australia's Jason Cummings buried to get the hosts on level terms.

The hosts' pressure only mounted after the restart, with Abahani defender Milad Soleimani turning in Hugo Boumous' cross into his own net on 58 minutes before Armando Sadiku made it 3-1 two minutes later, guiding home Liston Colaco's low cross into the goalmouth.

Lemos brought on Faysal Ahmed Fahim for Shushanto Tripura and Mohammad Sohel Rana for Muzaffarov, and Rahim Ali for David Ifegw later on, but those changes failed to bring a change to the Dhanmondi giants' fate.

The Kolkata-based outfit, who came to this stage after beating Nepal's Machhindra FC 3-1, had defeated Abahani by the same margin in the playoff last season before thrashing BPL champions Bashundhara Kings 4-0 in the group stage and becoming South Asian zone champions.