Soccer: Save writes Paston into the book of fame

Goalkeeper Mark Paston celebrates. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Young Jack Paston should prepare for a few years of putting up with people telling him of the night they saw his father get New Zealand to the World Cup.

He was among the packed house on Saturday night to see dad Mark Paston's thrilling penalty save to deny Bahrain an equaliser and ensure the All Whites' progress to the finals in South Africa next year.

If you asked him now what he thought, he couldn't provide you with the specifics and he'd probably give you one of those unfocused stares 10-week-old babies are prone to do.

He was there, strapped to his mother, Amie, among the 35,000 on New Zealand Soccer's finest night for 27 years.

But Paston won't be regaling his son with how he pulled off the most important save of his career, diving low to his right to deny defender Sayed Mohamed Adnan's firmly struck spot kick six minutes into the second half.

He has a major degree in self-effacement. When a television reporter asked him how he felt to be a legend, Paston looked as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. Certainly the notion of everlasting fame did not sit easily.

"I'm a bit uncomfortable with that sort of talk," the tall, lean 32-year-old eventually said.

It won him the man-of-the-match award, which could have gone to two or three of his teammates, but his was the single action which did more than anyone else - other than goalscorer Rory Fallon - to advance the All Whites to South Africa.

Paston praised his defenders for an "amazing job" in the second half, happy to deflect any fanciful talk heading his way.

He had practised some penalty saves during the week ,"but more for the boys who'd be taking them".

"I've always said it's a pressure situation and so different for the penalty taker. You try and make them wait a bit longer, which I tried to do.

"But a lot of it's luck. I'd like to say I looked at his technique, but no. Sometimes you guess the wrong way, sometimes the right way."

Paston admitted his decision to leap right was a guess. Teammates on the sideline were urging him to go that way, but he couldn't hear them.

"I made up my mind quite early on. He hit it reasonably well but not very wide, so it was fairly comfortable in the end, but obviously pretty important."

And this king of understatement probably owes a small debt to his luckless goalkeeping rival Glen Moss, who was suspended after being sent off in a qualifying match against Fiji.

On such small things, a place in the World Cup finals can hinge. Moss might have dived left. No one will know, and now it doesn't really matter.

The week has been tough for Paston. He hasn't slept or eaten much, hasn't seen enough of the family.

He can make up for that now, content in the sure knowledge that his place in New Zealand soccer folklore - whether he likes it or not - is secure.