Vissel Kobe edged closer to a place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite on Tuesday after a late error by visiting goalkeeper Dylan Peraic-Cullen handed the Japanese champions a 3-2 win over Central Coast Mariners in Kobe.

In other action, Matias Vargas scored a hat trick as 10-man Shanghai Port defeated South Korea¡¯s Ulsan HD 3-1 while Kawasaki Frontale won 3-0 over Buriram United and Shandong Taishan claimed a 1-0 win over Johor Darul Ta¡¯zim.

Takayuki Yoshida¡¯s Kobe side leads the east Asian standings with 13 points from the first five league phase games as clubs attempt to finish in the top eight places in the 12-team division to advance to the last 16. The win on Tuesday came just days after the club secured the Emperor¡¯s Cup over Kansai rival Gamba Osaka.