When Slovenia knocked in their third goal against New Zealand on Friday night a sense of the immensity of the task the All Whites have ahead of them swept the ground. A good showing against Serbia had raised hopes that maybe, just maybe, they would be competitive at the World Cup. After the Slovenia result this optimism will likely have been replaced with a gritty realism that they will be have to work very hard indeed to get any points at all in South Africa.
The biggest cause for concern is that New Zealand lost heavily despite playing quite well. Two free-kicks and a goalkeeping fumble were enough to account for them and at least all were avoidable. It behoves any international defender to avoid rash challenges around the penalty area. Milivoje Novakovic punished them twice here before they learned their lesson. Knowing, full well, that an opponent is likely to go down if they feel they can gain an advantage, it would be footballing suicide to continue in this vein.
Winston Reid may claim his innocence, and certainly there was minimal contact, but a clear, desperate grab at Novakovic’s shirt as he skipped sideways across the pitch was an open invitation to go down and claim a set piece from an advanced position. The same man got up to put it away, the defensive wall doing nothing to deter him as he comfortably curled it round, without having to clear any heads.
When Mark Paston failed to hold a swerving long range effort and spilled it in to the path of Andraz Kirm the conclusion was foregone. New Zealand went in at the break 3-1 down and knowing they had a lot of work to do, and very little time, before they took on Slovakia in the World Cup proper.
Aware of this coach Ricki Herbert sent out his team unchanged, but for Jeremy Brockie who, in a farcical clerical mix-up, was only allowed on the pitch when he put on Aaron Claphams No. 16 shirt instead of his own. The rest of the game played out goalless and New Zealand again showed their tactical discipline and ability to ruffle defences.
“It shows just how far this side has come to walk off the park not content with a good performance against a side ranked in the world’s top 25.” Said the NZ Herald’s Michael Brown of the All Whites, with Henry Ngata of the same paper finding positives in second half stating “I expect the coaching staff will be reasonably happy the players were able to change their game in the second half”
Indeed, the ability to adapt to the demands of their opponents will be vital for the All Whites. Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia will all provide different demands but one thing is certain, chances are likely to be few and far between and the New Zealanders will need to be ready to pounce. “We need to be much more clinical.” said Herbert after the Slovenia game. “We had four or five goalscoring opportunities and we took one of them. If we can keep the percentage of chances coming and increase the percentage of the ones hitting the back of the net, it will stand us in good stead.”
This may be the case, but finicky refereeing and a swervy ball will not go away in the World Cup proper and it’s not just at the back where this will affect them. Striker Rory Fallon is a large man and his ability to get his head to the ball first will no doubt be pivotal. However, his tendency to jump with his arms extended may well count against him. Fallon felt the refereeing against Slovenia was questionable. “Anywhere else,” he said, “like in England, that’s play on. Some of the stuff was diabolical. But you have to get on with it. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
His goal was well taken, but if free kicks are routinely going against the striker when he jumps for the ball then possession will be squandered far too easily. “In all three [warm-up] games he’s been top drawer,” coach Ricki Herbert said. “He’s done extremely well. Tonight he was very strong and played his part. “But with so much of the attacking play going through him, he’ll have to be adaptable.
The New Zealanders still have one warm up game, against Chile, before they start their campaign. The mood in the camp is rightly one of cautious optimism. “We are reasonably happy with where we are but no one is turning cartwheels over winning our last game”, said midfielder Simon Elliott after the victory over Serbia, and this pragmatism proved advisable.
The coach, however, is more bullish. “I think we are punching way above our weight now,” he said. “It’s great. If anybody wants to take us lightly at the World Cup, then good luck to them.” Finding a way to utilise their physical game without being punished by adroit opposition or over-picky referees might be the real key to their success.
