Soccer-Auckland land Oceania title again in dramatic fashion

April 26 (Reuters) - Auckland City maintained their iron grip on the Oceania Champions League by winning their fifth consecutive title after edging Team Wellington 4-3 on penalties on Sunday to book another spot at the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup. Auckland looked to be cruising to a seventh continental crown when Portuguese forward Joao Moreira slipped a 14th minute penalty under Wellington goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe to put the favourites ahead in Suva, Fiji. But Wellington, appearing in the tournament for the first time, levelled with just 11 minutes of regular time remaining after a blistering strike from Ian Hogg. The goal was the first Auckland had conceded in the tournament. Auckland were gifted a chance to clinch the title in extra time when they were awarded a second penalty after Ryan De Vries' shot was handled in the area, with the Wellington players angrily protesting the decision and having to be dragged away. Welsh midfielder Chris Bale was sent off for his actions but the delay seemed to affect Darren White, whose 111th minute penalty was saved by O'Keefe down to the goalkeeper's right. Both sides had further chances to grab victory in a pulsating finale but the match went to penalties. The duo were locked at 3-3 after four kicks each when Hogg stepped up and blazed his effort over the bar, with Kim Dae-wook keeping his composure to convert the winning penalty for Auckland and book a return to the Club World Cup. The Blues are the first side to claim a place at the seven-team tournament for the club champions of the six FIFA Confederations, which will be played in Japan in December and also feature the J-League winners. Auckland finished third at last year's Club World Cup in Morocco after going down to San Lorenzo in the semi-finals. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)