All Whites snatch 3-0 victory

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 44

All Whites snatch 3-0 victory

By

GARY BIRKETT

A year ago the New Zealand soccer team could not score a goal in 36G minutes of play against Dynamo Minsk but the problems which beset the side then appear to have been well and truly ironed out

The vast improvement made by the All Whites since then was underlined at Queen Elizabeth II Park last evening when it downed Young Brazil, 3-0, in a match which proved New Zealand has a fine chance of qualifying for the Seoul Olympics. While Young Brazil is not as strong as Australia, Israel and China-Taipei the quality of attacking soccer produced by the All Whites was most encouraging. Before the match the coach, Kevin Fallon, had promised his side would attack rather than play for a favourable result and his new tactic certainly paid dividends. Three finely crafted goals and a handful of other good chances showed the young All Whites are improving with each outing. “I had a lot of kids out there tonight and I was delighted with them,” said Mr Fallon, who has now guided the side through an eight match unbeaten run.

While happy at such a good result Mr Fallon was upset that Kevin Hagan has made himself unavailable for the Olympic series. “I won’t pick him again for New Zealand. He is trying to bargain with me but he knows there are no deals. He doesn't want to play for

New Zealand badly enough.” After an early period of indecisive play New Zealand almost scored through Turner, who beat the offside trap but shot straight at the brilliant young goalkeeper, Carlos. The keeper again had to react smartly after 30 minutes when Turner found himself free in front of goal. This time his shot struck Carlos on the chest and the ball was cleared.

While Young Brazil looked dangerous in patches it sometimes overdid the flashy onetwos and back flicks and it was the more methodical build-up of the All Whites which was proving a threat. The home side went in front after 35 minutes, Turner heading wide to Mike McGarry on the right and the Dunedin player rounded his marker Casso to lash a right foot shot past Carlos into the far corner of the net.

The New Zealand captain, Malcolm Dunford, was forced to leave the pitch with a hamstring strain soon after and while the New Zealand defence was settling in again Young Brazil created its best chance. Assis turned quickly on the edge of the penalty

box and his left footed drive was only parried by the goalkeeper, Grant Scholfield. Bentinho latched on to the rebound but his shot was saved superbly at point blank range by the keeper.

New Zealand lifted its game noticeably early in the second half and the substitute striker, Noel Barkley, delighted the 1500-strong crowd with a fine goal after 49min.

He collected a Richard Mulligan throw and turned to find himself in space. A strong shot left Carlos clutching thin air and New Zealand was 2-0 up. Seven minutes later McGarry scored one of the best goals seen at the park for years. Declan Edge and Colin Walker combined to send Duncan Cole scuttling down the left and a first time cross found McGarry running in at pace to head wide of Carlos.

Young Brazil enjoyed its best period after that setback but some naive finishing left it scoreless.

The next match in the four-match series will be played in Lower Hutt on Saturday. With a 1-0 lead after two games New Zealand, on last evening’s showing, will be extremely hard to peg back.

Score: New Zealand 3 (M. McGarry 2, N. Barkley) beat Young Brazil 0.