Nkosi Tafari’s late header gave Los Angeles FC a 2-1 win in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final against Mexico’s Toluca on Wednesday.
US defender Tafari bundled in a free kick cross in stoppage time from Son Heung-min, who had earlier assisted Timothy Tillman’s opener, to give the Major League Soccer team a slender advantage.
The two sides meet again in Toluca next week. The winner will face either Tigres UANL or Nashville in the final of North and Central America’s top club competition.
The Mexican team hold a 1-0 advantage in the other semi-final.
Toluca, the reigning Mexican champions, had contained LAFC in a cagey first half.
The hosts were blunt without star forward Denis Bouanga, who was suspended.
LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a stunning double save to keep the game scoreless.
But the game sprang to life after the break. Korean superstar Son teed up a rebound on the edge of the box for Tillman, who allowed the ball to bounce once before burying it in the bottom-left corner.
With barely 15 minutes remaining, Jesus Ricardo Angulo curled in a sumptuous low shot from just outside the penalty area to tie up the game.
But Son’s pinpoint cross to Tafari sent the home crowd wild and gave LAFC a small cushion for the return leg next Wednesday.
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