RABAT — Western Sydney Wanderers came within two minutes of a dream Club World Cup semifinal meeting with Real Madrid before losing 3-1 after extra time to Mexican side Cruz Azul Saturday. A memorable year for Wanderers, who defied the odds to overcome much wealthier Asian teams and win the continent's Champions League in November, ended on a waterlogged pitch with a rash of red cards as they let a late lead slip. CONCACAF champion Cruz Azul will face European champion Real in Rabat Tuesday. In Saturday's other quarterfinal, Auckland City's John Irving struck in the second-half to secure a shock 1-0 win over Algerians ES Setif and a last four place for the first time. The Oceania champion will meet Argentina's San Lorenzo, the Copa Libertadores title holder, in Marrakesh Wednesday. Wanderers, who finished with nine men, took the lead in the second half against overwhelming favorite Cruz Azul with a long-range strike from Iacopo La Rocca. Gerardo Torrado equalized with a penalty for the Mexicans and converted another spot-kick in extra time either side of a goal from forward Hugo Pavone. Wanderers lost Matthew Spiranovic to a second yellow card 16 minutes from the end of normal time before captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley followed him off the pitch in extra time. Wanderers were unhappy with Ivory Coast referee Noumandiez Doue and the condition of the pitch that made passing difficult and ball control a lottery following continuous torrential rain. After chances at either end, including a harshly disallowed goal for Wanderers, Italian La Rocca latched onto a poor clearance to crash a first-time shot from 35 meters into the bottom corner. Center back Spiranovic got a second booking 10 minutes later but it still looked as though the Sydney side would hold out. That was until substitute Shannon Cole mistimed a tackle on Marco Fabian and Torrado netted confidently for Cruz Azul to send the game into extra time. When Topor-Stanley was shown a second yellow card, Wanderers' task became one of grim survival. They could not manage it, however, as Pavone bundled the ball home from close-range and Torrado netted again from the penalty spot following handball by Mateo Poljak. Earlier, Irving scored for Auckland 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 past goalkeeper Sofiane Khedairia. New Zealand's part-timer had defeated Moroccan club Moghreb Tetouan on penalties in their preliminary round clash Wednesday. It followed that by dumping out the fancied African champion. — Reuters
