Liga Deportiva Universitaria gained the upper hand over Velez Sarsfield with a 1-1 draw at the home of the Argentinian champions in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals.

Uruguayan striker Hernan Rodrigo Lopez put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute, heading home after good link-up play between defender Nicolas Otamendi and playmaker Maximiliano Moralez. However, Jorge Fossatti's visitors from Ecuador were well organised in defence after conceding the opener and did not let Velez get out of sight.

Argentinian forward Claudio Bieler escaped his marker to make it 1-1 early in the second half in Buenos Aires. The equaliser shocked Velez and they failed to find a way past Liga goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez in the remaining time and now need to win in Quito - or draw and score at least twice - to book a semi-final berth.

Liga defender Enrique Vera was delighted with the draw at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani. "The first 90 minutes have gone and we are happy," he said. "Now, we'll finish this at home. We played much better after we scored and we could even have netted one more."

Velez defender Emiliano Papa, meanwhile, left the stadium disappointed. "In the second half, in our best spell, they scored," he said. "Bieler is in good form. The final minutes were quite tough."