Santiago Silva scored a second-half winner as Velez Sarsfield beat Chile's Union Espanola 2-1 on Thursday to boost the Argentine club's hopes of making the Copa Libertadores second round.
Emiliano Papa knocked in a rebound to give Velez a 24th-minute lead, before Leandro Delgado headed the equalizer ten minutes later. Silva's winner came in the 69th.
The win moved Velez to six points in Group 4 after four games. Chile's Universidad Catolica leads on seven points, with Venezuela's Caracas on six and Union on four. The top two qualify.
''We were playing really well until they scored and then their goal knocked us a bit,'' said Papa. ''But in the second half we managed to pull ourselves together and get the win.''
Papa's opening goal for Velez came with a shot into the roof of the net at the back post after Silva's initial effort had been blocked at point-blank range by Union goalkeeper Eduardo Lobos.
Delgado equalized after slack Velez marking at a free kick in the 34th, but Silva headed in from close range to claim all three points for Velez.
Also Thursday, Peru's Leon De Huanuco will struggle to progress after losing 2-0 at already-eliminated Oriente Petrolero of Bolivia in Group 2.
Alcides Pena rounded the goalkeeper to score the opener in the 17th and Jhasmany Campos added a second in the 78th.
Atletico Junior has already qualified from the group with a maximum 12 points from four games, while Leon's loss was a boost for Brazil's Gremio, in second with seven from four.
Leon has four points and has just one game left, while Oriente moved to three points from five at the bottom of the section.
A point for Gremio in either the home match against Junior on April 7 or from the trip to Oriente a week later will see the Brazilian club into the final 16.
So far, only Atletico Junior and Paraguay's Libertad have secured qualification to the knockout round.
