Warriors coach Richard Bok raised his fists in celebration. Indra Sahdan and Hafiz Osman hugged while Ahmad Latiff and Niklas Sandberg exchanged hi-fives.

As the final whistle blew, Henan Jianye were left wondering if the Great Wall of China had been transported to the Hang Hai Stadium while the Warriors celebrated the valuable point gained in front of 20,893 away supporters. 

Yes, the Warriors have done it. The mission was to get a point in their AFC Champions League Group G opener against Henan, and they've accomplished it.

The result was all the more sweeter as it was achieved without the injured John Wilkinson and Shaiful Esah.  

Lady Luck played a huge role as Henan, who are making their Champions League debut, hit the woodwork three times.

Henan, which came out firing from the first minute, weren't shy to test Warriors' captain Shahril Jantan's goalkeeping skills.

After just four minutes, they could have gone ahead when new Senegalese forward Amado Diallo met Zhang Lu's corner kick but saw the ball hitting the post.

Xu Yang, Diallo and Brazilian forward Netto then all had chances but either shot wide or had their efforts stopped by Shahril.

After the break, it was Zhang's turn to hit the woodwork after beating the offside trap. He drove the ball against the post with only Shahril to beat as the Warriors heave another sigh of relief.

Desperation was then evident as Henan became impatient and started pumping long balls into the box, which were easily dealt with. 

In the 83rd minute, Diallo found himself on a one-on-one with Shahril, who was not about to let go of his clean sheet, stopping the effort with cat-like agility.

And in a final sign that it was certainly not their night, substitute Xiao Zhi struck the post with a header in injury time after outjumping the Warriors' defence. 

Said Warriors coach Richard Bok: "Our target was to get a point in Henan and we achieved it. Our plan was to soak and counter and the team executed it perfectly.

"Shahril was also in good form and he saved us on no fewer than three or four occasions.

"I must praise the team for a job well-done.

"Henan are a good, young side, with lots of energy. They play down the flanks and have good forwards in Brazilian Netto and Amado (Diallo), the new Senegalese signing.

"Of course, we had been lucky as they created many chances but put them wide, had them stopped by Shahril or the woodwork."

One blip however was Uruguayan forward Federico Martinez's second booking of the tournament. With yellow cards from the qualifiers carrying over, it means that Martinez will miss the next ACL game against Suwon Bluewings on 10 March at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Nonetheless, coach Richard would like to congratulate the team again for a job well-done.

And he has set his sights on the return leg against Henan. "I really hope we beat them in our next encounter in Singapore."

Team: Shahril Jantan (GK, C), Hafiz Osman, Daniel Bennett, Ivan Lovric, Noh Rahman, Niklas Sandberg, Rhysh Roshan Rai (Razaleigh Khalik 90+2), Taisuke Akiyoshi, Ahmad Latiff, Indra Sahdan, Federico Martinez (Mustaqim Manzur 81st).

Referee: Mohsen Torky (Iran)

Crowd: 20,893

Arriving at the Hang Hai Stadium.

Marching out.

Brimming with confidence before the game.

Warriors in their pre-match warcry.

Warriors captain Shahril Jantan in a post-match interview.