In a largely cagey encounter, the home side netted the decisive goal two minutes before the interval when Ivan Boskovic was brought down in the box and Jiyamuradov made no mistake in beating keeper Amer Sabbah from 12 yards.

Boskovic had earlier seen a goal disallowed while Mirzakamol Kamalov also hit the bar as Nasaf edged their Jordanian opponents over the course of the 90 minutes.

The match began with lengthy delay due to a sandstorm in Karshi and it seemed to affect both sides, who were unable to create much of any real significance in the opening exchanges.

Nasaf came close to breaking the deadlock in the 22nd minute, though, when Kamalov was unfortunate to see his effort from Jiyamuradov's free-kick hit the frame of the goal.

Three minutes later, home goalkeeper Murod Sakharov - the hero of the quarter-final penalty shootout victory over Chonburi - was called into action when he parried a shot from close range.

Nasaf stepped up their efforts to find the crucial first goal and Turkmenistan international Artur Gevorgyan fired wide in the 29th minute.

Six minutes later Boskovic, current leading scorer in this year's AFC Cup, had the ball in the back of the net from a free-kick but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Nevertheless, the home side did eventually go in front in the 43rd minute when Boskovic was fouled in the penalty area and Jiyamuradov kept his nerve to convert from the spot.

The second-half saw little in the way of action with only one chance of note coming in the 70th minute when Hassan Abdel-Fatah was presented with a sight of goal from close range but Zukhurov was again in the right place to make the save.

Nasaf will therefore take a narrow advantage into the return leg at King Abdullah International Stadium in Amman on October 18 with a place in the final very much up for grabs for both sides.