'Heroic' Auckland players hailed after Boca draw

WELLINGTON — It might not have been the shot heard around the world, but it was a goal that reverberated 13,000 kilometers when Auckland City FC scored Tuesday to draw 1-1 with Boca Juniors at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Christian Gray, a trainee teacher at Mt Roskill Intermediate School in Auckland, rose to meet the corner of Jerson Lagos, a barber, and headed in the equalizer, as the mostly-amateur team from New Zealand held Diego Maradona's former Argentine club to a draw.

Auckland lost 10-0 to Bayern Munich and 6-0 to Benfica in its first two matches, leading to questions over FIFA's decision to allow a team of part-timers from Oceania, it's the smallest confederation, to compete with the professional superstars of world soccer.