San Lorenzo edges Auckland City in Club World Cup

Published January 08, 2015

Marrakech, Morocco (SportsNetwork.com) - Mauro Matos scored in extra time to hand San Lorenzo a 2-1 win over Auckland City in the semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup on Wednesday.

After a slow start to the contest, Pablo Barrientos brought the match to life a few minutes before halftime when he took a cross from the left wing and hammered a half-volley beyond the reach of the goalkeeper to put San Lorenzo ahead 1-0 at the break.

But Auckland was able to equalize in the 59th with a rare chance as Ryan De Vries darted through the middle of the defense and had the ball redirected out wide into the path of Angel Berlanga, who drove his shot into the back of the net from a tight angle.

Martin Cauteruccio nearly restored San Lorenzo's lead in the final 10 minutes, but his powerful effort crashed against the woodwork, sending the match into extra time.

The men from Argentina didn't have to wait long, however, to seize the advantage as Matos made the most of a failed clearance to smack home the winning goal from inside the box.

Tim Payne had one final opportunity to knot things back up in extra time, but he saw his shot hit the post and San Lorenzo held on to set up a meeting with Real Madrid in the final on Saturday.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/san-lorenzo-edges-auckland-city-in-club-world-cup