MEXICO CITY -- Second-half substitute Oribe Peralta scored in the 89th minute to give Club America a 1-1 draw with the visiting Impact de Montreal in the first leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League (SCCL) final on Wednesday.

Rubens Sambueza, who was taken down by Andres Romero just outside the left edge of the penalty area, floated a free kick into the box for Peralta.  The 2013 CONCACAF Player of the Year beat Callum Mallace to the ball, heading it into the net from five-yards out for the dramatic equalizer at the Estadio Azteca.

The second leg will be played in Montreal next Wednesday.

Though the current Mexican champion held a substantial possession advantage in the opening half, the Impact drew first blood in the 16th minute. 

From the right, Dominic Oduro slipped a pass to Ignacio Piatti in the left side of the box.  While defender Paul Aguilar fell to the ground in an attempt to intervene, the Argentinean slotted a shot from 14 yards into the lower left corner past goalkeeper Moises Muñoz.  It was the first SCCL goal Club America allowed at home in 316 minutes.

The score also injected urgency into the Aguilas as they pushed for an immediate equalizer.

Sambueza’s hard effort from the top of the box in the 21st minute forced goalkeeper Evan Bush to make a two-handed save.  Only a minute later, a Cristian Pellerano header from the middle of the penalty area was well handled by the Montreal custodian.

Club America thought it had knotted the match up at 1-1 in the 26th minute, but Michael Arroyo’s goal was disallowed for offside.

Piatti had a golden opportunity to double the 2014 Canadian champion’s lead in the 28th minute, only for his 15-yard chip to float wide left.

During a quick counter off a Club America corner kick just prior to halftime, Oduro was pulled down on his way to goal by Osvaldo Martinez, who received a yellow from referee Hector Rodriguez.

After the break, the five-time CONCACAF champion generated a trio initial opportunities to level.

In the 60th minute, Bush was well positioned to catch Dario Benedetto’s close-range header. 

Peralta then flashed a diving header just wide of the left post in the 62nd minute, before Sambueza drilled a swerving shot off the crossbar with the outside of his left foot from 26-yards out.