Newcastle United will put All Whites to the test

Press, 15 May 1985, Page 46

Newcastle United will put All Whites to the test

By

DAVID LEGGAT

Kevin Fallon and his New Zealand soccer team can be sure of one thing as they prepare for the four-match seies with Newcastle United, starting at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Saturday. Unlike some earlier overseas visitors, Newcastle will not be in the country for an end-of-season holiday, with some meaningless soccer tossed in to keep the paying public happy. The famous northern club has just finished its first season back in the first division under the firm hand of the former England and Leeds United centre half, Jack Charlton. No stranger to New Zealand, Charlton was in charge of the Middlesborough team which turned on a memorable display under lights at English Park

10 years ago when beating Canterbury, 2-0. Charlton is a manager who demands the best from his players at all times. Soccer is not a light-hearted romp for the man who played 35 times for England and 629 times for Leeds, as an uncompromising defender. On New Zealand’s tour of Britain and Fiji last year, Newcastle welcomed the All Whites with a 3-0 defeat. What then can New Zealand expect from Newcastle? Certainly it will play with a greater commitment than the last English visitors, Queen’s Park Rangers, who strolled through a threematch tour which produced few thrills and, at least in Christchurch, had the crowd moving towards the exits well before the finish.

The one notable absentee will be the immensely gifted attacker, Chris Waddle, who has been called into the England squad. His striking partner, Peter Beardsley, who was recently singled out by his former team-mate, Kevin Keegan, as a player with international potential, will lead the attack. The little striker has scored over 40 league goals in the last two seasons. The captain will be Glenn Roeder, who toured New Zealand as Queen’s Park Rangers’ captain two years ago, and also in the England B party of 1978. A skilful sweeper, Roeder makes good use of the ball and was a key man in Newcastle’s promotion last season. The two goal-keepers are

Kevin Carr, who has played over 150 league matches for Newcastle, and Martin Thomas, for more than 200 games the Bristol Rovers goal-keeper. Malcolm Brown, a regular choice this season at right back, and the Eire international, John Anderson, will be the first-choice full-backs.

Other players sure to attract attention are David McCreery, the former Manchester United midfielder, who has won almost 50 Northern Ireland caps, and played in the World Cup finals three years ago; Neil McDonald, a former England Youth international captain, still only 18, who made his debut at 16, the youngest player to appear in the Football League for

Newcastle; George Reilly, the former Watford striker, and the Jamaican-born striker, Tony Cunningham, who signed from Manchester City three months ago, having played a part in Sheffield Wednesday winning promotion last season. The wing, Paul Ferris, is a Northern Ireland Youth international, and Wesley Saunders, a versatile young defender, has played for England’s Youth team. The four-game tour represents the toughest workout New Zealand will have in its buildup to the World Cup qualifying series in September and October. Three matches have been set down against Fiji next month, but they are certain to provide a less taxing test of New Zealand’s capabilities. The second international

will be played at the Basin Reserve on Sunday, the third in Napier next Wednesday night and the final match will be in Auckland on Saturday, May 25. That match had originally been scheduled for Friday night, May 24, which made sense, as it would have avoided a clash with the Auckland rugby team’s meeting with the touring England side at Eden Park on the Saturday. Now the New Zealand Football Association has decided to play the international at the same time as the rugby. The association has claimed it is not concerned at the sporting conflict, and certainly it has the right to play its matches whenever it wants to. But it is a bad decision. The N.Z.F.A. is concerned at the poor support the national team has received in recent months. Timing potentially one of the most entertaining matches of the year to coincide exactly with an international rugby fixture is not the right way to go about rectifying that situation. The soccer gate is sure to suffer. As one observer cynically put it last week, there will probably be more South African tour protesters at Eden Park than spectators at Mount Smart Stadium.