Louis Agyeman scored in the final minute to snatch a 1-1 draw for Hearts of Oak against Asante Kotoko here on Sunday in the first leg of an all-Ghana African Confederation Cup final.
The result tilted the odds slightly in favour of Kotoko ahead of the return game in the central city of Kumasi next Sunday with a goalless draw enough to give them the 362,500-dollar first prize on the away-goal rule.
Michael Osei gave Kotoko the lead 62 minutes into the first major Confederation of African Football club final featuring two sides from the same country since organised football was launched 41 years ago.
Kotoko are seeking their first African trophy since winning the Champions Cup (now League) for the second time in 1983 while Hearts' sole success in that competition came five years ago.
The first final of the Confederation Cup, which replaced the African Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup competitions and is modelled on the European UEFA Cup, produced no first-half goalmouth drama.
Hosts Hearts came under early second-half pressure, though, in a match watched by a capacity 40,000 crowd at the Ohene Djan Stadium in the capital of the West African country.
Goalkeeper Sani Mohammed, drafted into the starting line-up when Sammy Adjei was transferred to Tunisian team Club Africain midway through the 12-month competition, was the 'Phobians' hero as he thwarted Charles Taylor and Osei.
Mohammed proved a worthy successor to Adjei by blocking a scorching Taylor drive and almost immediately held a fierce shot from Osei as the 'Porcupine Warriors' sought a precious away goal.
But a rare Mohammed blunder contributed to Kotoko taking the lead as he failed to hold a free kick from transfer-seeking midfielder Taylor and Osei pounced on the rebound to score his second Confederation Cup goal.
Hearts, who entered the match as marginal favourites after more impressive results en route to the final, were stung into action after falling behind and Prince Tagoe went close to levelling.
However, just when it seemed Kotoko would leave Accra with a surprise first-leg advantage over their traditional rivals Agyeman struck to leave the destination of the trophy in the balance.
Apart from the prize money and the claim to be the best club in Ghana, the winners will play Champions League holders Enyimba of Nigeria next month in Aba for the African Super Cup.
Originally scheduled for November and December, the Confederation Cup final was postponed due to security fears as the clubs were linked to candidates in a general election held mid-December.