Adelaide United have all but qualified for the AFC Champions League round of 16  after an epic 3-2 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The Reds are sitting on top of Group H with nine points having won all of their three matches.

Adelaide had the better of the first half and went into half time leading 1 -0 after captain Travis Dodd connected with a curling cross from Marcos Flores with a diving header after 11 minutes.

Sanfrecce was under constant pressure from Adelaide’s counter-attacks and on the half-hour defender Ilyan Stoyanov was sent off for a foul on Mathew Leckie as the last man.

Seven minutes into the second half, Sanfrecce equalised when Kazuyuki Morisaki found the corner of the net with a low drive after a poor Reds clearance.

Sanfrecce went in front on 74 minutes when substitute Issei Takayanagi scored with a header. Adelaide replied through Robbie Cornthwaite with a headed goal almost immediately.

Substitute Cassio incredibly put the Reds in the lead once again with a deflected shot from a free kick with only a few minutes to play.