Tigres' French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (right) vies for the ball with Pachuca's Colombian defender Oscar Murillo during their Mexican Apertura tournament football match between Tigres and Pachuca at Universitario stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, on Oct 13, 2022. (JULIO CESAR AGUILAR / AFP)

MEXICO CITY - French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac converted a late penalty as Tigres UANL edged toward a place in the Liga MX semifinals on Thursday with a 1-0 home win over Pachuca.

Gignac held his nerve with the 88th-minute spot-kick after Victor Guzman brought down Guido Pizarro.

In Thursday's only other quarterfinal first leg, Toluca clinched a 4-3 home victory over 10-man Santos Laguna. Brazilian Camilo Sanvezzo scored either side of halftime while Carlos Gonzalez and Tiago Volpi were also on the scoresheet.

Igor Lichnovsky (right) of Tigres vies for the ball with Nicolas Ibanez of Pachuca during their Mexican Apertura 2022 football tournament match at the Universitario stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, on Oct 13, 2022. (JULIO CESAR AGUILAR / AFP)

The visitors were forced to endure the last 12 minutes with 10 men following Juan Brunetta's rash challenge on Claudio Baeza.

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The quarterfinal second-leg fixtures will be played on Saturday and Sunday.