RABAT (Reuters) – Auckland City’s John Irving struck in the second-half to secure a shock 1-0 win over Algerian side ES Setif and a place in the Club World Cup semi-finals for the first time on Saturday.
They will now face Argentina’s San Lorenzo, the Copa Libertadores champions, in Marrakesh on Wednesday.
Irving scored after 52 minutes when Tim Payne’s corner fell to him on the edge of the area and he cut inside a defender and fired a low drive through a crowd of players with keeper Sofiane Khedairia getting a hand to the ball but could not keep out.
The New Zealand part-timers, who qualified for the tournament as Oceania champions and are making a record sixth appearance, had defeated Moroccan club Moghreb Tetouan on penalties in their preliminary round clash on Wednesday.
They followed that by dumping out fancied African champions who enjoyed 60 percent of the possession but struggled to make it count with the better chances falling to Auckland.
South African-born Auckland striker Ryan de Vries screwed a shot across goal and wide after Setif captain Farid Mellouli was caught in possession and the defence opened up for him.
Auckland fullback Angel Berlanga also saw his cross-shot evade Khedairia but strike the woodwork before former Everton reserve Irving put them ahead, forcing the shocked Algerians to play with more urgency.
Their best chance fell to striker Mohamed Benyettou, who created space for a shot from eight metres but had his effort blocked by Auckland goalkeeper Tamati Williams.
De Vries almost added a second goal for Auckland late on but his curling effort struck the post.
