Trailing to an 11th-minute opener by Mota, J.League champions Urawa fought back to take the lead with goals by Tatsuya Tanaka and Robson Ponte after the break.

However, Kim Do-heon struck nine minutes from time to ensure that K-League champions Seongnam will travel to Japan for the return match on October 24 on level terms.

The match kicked off in soggy conditions at Seongnam Tancheon Sports Complex and it was the home side that went ahead early on through Brazilian striker Mota, who was an injury doubt before the game.

Itamar picked up the ball in the centre circle after Keisuke Tsuboi gave up possession just inside the Seongnam half and launched a quick counter-attack through the middle.

With the Urawa defence closing in on him, the Brazilian played the ball to his left to an unmarked Mota who deftly clipped the ball over the advancing Ryota Tsuzuki for his seventh goal of the tournament.

Urawa reacted to the setback by putting the Seongnam goal under sustained pressure but good defensive work by the home side kept Urawa at bay and the closest that the visitors came to a first half equaliser was a dipping volley by Marcus Tulio Tanaka in the 32nd minute that forced Kim Yong-dae to dive low to his left to save.

Both sides had penalty appeals turned down late in the half. Jang Hack-yong appeared to be tugged back by Nobuhisa Yamada as he attempted to burst clear in the Urawa box in the 38th minute and a minute later, Yuki Abe was sent tumbling by a Kim Cheol-ho tackle at the other end, only to be shown the yellow card by Qatari referee Abdulrahman Abdou for simulation.

Both teams displayed plenty of attacking intent at the start of the second half. Kim Do-heon went close on two occasions for Seongnanm, shooting just wide from the edge of the box and then sending a dipping volley from 25 metres just over the crossbar, while Ponte's volley at the other end was palmed away by Kim Yong-dae.

The home side were nearly gifted a second goal in the 51st minute as Jang Hack-yong's cross from the left was deflected by Yamada onto the Urawa crossbar. With goalkeeper Tsuzuki struggling to get to the loose ball, Yuki Abe hacked the ball clear before it could fall to a lurking Nam Ki-il.

Urawa took advantage of the let-off by drawing level two minutes later when Ponte floated in a cross from the right edge of the Seongnam box towards Tanaka, who rose high in the middle to meet the ball with a cushioned header that looped past Kim Yong-dae, falling just inside the right post.

Seongnam should have restored their advantage in the 58th minute as Nam Ki-il squandered a glorious opportunity. A low cross by Kim Cheol-ho from the right channel caused a frantic scramble in front of the Urawa goal with the ball eventually falling to an unmarked Nam, who contrived to put his shot against the left upright with the goal at his mercy.

On 66 minutes, the Japanese side were awarded a penalty after substitute Kim Dong-hun clattered into Washington as the two players attempted to get to Keita's Suzuki's lofted ball into the Seongnam box. Ponte coolly drilled the spot-kick into the bottom left corner of the net, giving Kim Yong-dae no chance and giving the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The home side battled desperately to get back into the game and Tsuzuki made an excellent save to tip over Mota's 74th minute volley.

But the Seongnam pressure paid off nine minutes from time as Tsuzuki made a good save to keep out Mota's fierce low shot from the edge of the box but could only parry the ball towards Kim Do-heon, who tucked the rebound into the back of the net to level the score.

The Korean side thought they had got the winner six minutes from time when Kim Dong-hun touched the ball past Tsuzuki only to see the effort ruled out for offside.