Setif beaten by Auckland City at Fifa Club World Cup
Auckland City FC secured a stunning North African double as they defeated the champions of Africa, Entente Setif, 1-0 on Saturday to reach the Fifa Club World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history
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The New Zealand part-timers had already beaten Moroccan club Moghreb Tetouan on penalties in their preliminary round clash on Wednesday.
Auckland qualified for this event as champions of Oceania and are making a record sixth appearance at the tournament,
After their narrow win over Tetouan - whose coach, Aziz El Amri then resigned from his position - Auckland followed it by beating the fancied Algerian side with just one goal.
John Irving, a former reserve team player at Everton, grabbed the winner on 52 minutes when Tim Payne's corner fell to him on the edge of the penalty area.
He cut inside the defender and fired a low drive through a crowd of players that Setif goalkeeper Sofiane Khedairia got a hand to but could not keep out.
It was a frustrating match for Setif who enjoyed 60 per cent 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.
Auckland will face San Lorenzo of Argentina, who qualified as Copa Libertadores champions, in a semi-final in Marrakesh on Wednesday.
Setif will have to console themselves with a fifth-place play-off match, also on Wednesday.
The Algerians will face Asian Champions League winners Western Sydney Warriors from Australia who lost out to Mexico's Cruz Azul, the best team from North and Central America.
Cruz Azul won 3-1 in extra time and will play Real Madrid in their semi-final on Tuesday in Rabat.
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