N.Z. to attempt salvage job against Bahrain

Press, 24 April 1984, Page 48

N.Z. to attempt salvage job against Bahrain

Special correspondent Singapore Heartened by a better effort against South Korea, the New Zealand team will attempt a brave salvage job against Bahrain in its last game of the Olympic soccer qualifying tournament tonight.

Despite their 0-2 loss to the rampant Koreans, the Kiwis showed glimpses of their better form before again being punished for lapses in concentration. The first shots in the Korean war were fired in a no-holds-barred, stormy team meeting on the morning of the game. The coach, Allan Jones, and his assist-

ant, Kevin Fallon, minced no words in lashing the team for the inept performances which had left them pointless at the bottom of the table. “It was a fiery session,” said Mr Jones later. “We pulled no punches in telling the players just where they stood. By being so hard we knew one of two things could happen. Either they would dig their toes in and continue to play as they had — and get walloped by eight — or would go out and fight. “Thankfully, their pride dictated and we saw a much better performance out there against South Korea than in the games against Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.” From the outset, New Zealand, which went out knowing the Saudis had ended its faint qualifying hope, played positively. It had more of the play in the first half, with six scoring chances to four and four corner kicks to two. The best chance came in the thirty-eighth minute when Peter Simonsen fired a shot which the Korean goalkeeper, Jung Ki-Dong was forced to punch clear. Then, three minutes into the second spell, young Kevin Birch went as close

as anyone at the tournament in beating the Korean defence. From a Duncan Cole long throw, Ricki Herbert nodded down and Birch, from the edge of the penalty area, volleyed high. Only a desperate head off the line by a defender, Jung Young-Whan, stopped the

ball ripping into the goal. The New Zealand effort fizzled soon after as the gritty Koreans played themselves back into the game and eventually scored twice in a four-minute burst to take the match and almost certainly a place in the top two at the expense of the tournament favourite, Kuwait.

The first goal, after a foul by Mike Groom, came from a chipped free kick when Jung gathered a rebound to score. The second came from a centre-field break by a substitute, Lee Kil-Yong, who found Choi Soon-Ho unmarked. The Korean sharp shooter then fired past the New Zealand goalkeeper, Frank van Hattum. The New Zealanders were visibly flagging but refused to completely give up. Mr Jones singled out van Hattum, Keith Garland, Simonsen, Keith Mackay and Birch as his best players but added: “No one played badly.” Cole, Groom and Ceri Evans, too, had better games and, like the rest, were thoroughly spent at the end of the 90 minutes of strength-sapping effort. The real test will come tonight against Bahrain. With less than 48 hours to recover from another Singapore sweat bath, the players must tackle a team which has had a break of five days. “I would have liked another day’s rest,” said Mr Jones. “They were gone at the end of that. It will be a real test as Bahrain is a better side than its position suggests. It will be every bit as keen as us to take two

points. “After the strategic changes we made against Kuwait, it is back to basic New Zealand style now. We have to go at them knowing they play a more orthodox game than Korea but still retain much of the Koreans’ pace and the ability to

defend well.” Although he will not name his team until later this morning, Mr Jones said yesterday that it was unlikely there would be many, if any, changes. “We had the best available players out against South Korea,” he said. “You could hardly fault them for effort so they deserve an-

other run.” Rarely in recent times has New Zealand faced such a crisis. To return from a tournament such as this without a point in four games would be a disaster. The players, all too aware of that, have steeled themselves for a big effort. Given just a little luck and the ability to do better in front of goal, they may well salvage something. • The Gulf battle between the Arab rivals, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, produced much more than just the shock result of the tournament. Protesting against the decision of the Australian referee, Chris Bambridge, to allow Saudi’s second goal (after they led, 1-0, at halftime), the Kuwait coach, Tony Lopez, stormed on to the field and was promptly banished from the ground. The action continued with four players cautioned and, in the eighty-fifth minute, a Kuwait defender, Waleed Al-Mubarak, was sent off for a foul on Saleh AlDossary. Waleed had earlier been booked. The luckiest player to survive was the Kuwait fullback, Humoud Al-Shem-mari, who brought down the

star Saudi striker, Majed Mohammed, when he was set to score yet again. At the end of the game, a Kuwait mid-fielder, Sami Al-Hashash, had to be restrained when he joined Kuwaiti officials in charging after the match officials as they left the stadium.