Soccer: Goal 3 1/2 years and 87 minutes in the making

All Whites 1
Malaysia 0

CHRISTCHURCH - One precious last-ditch goal was enough to get the All Whites home at QE II Park yesterday.

But until defender Steven Old struck home his first at this level in the 87th minute, it was an arm wrestle which could have gone either way.

Not that it should have ever been that close.

While the first half was reasonably even - the visitors enjoyed a slight advantage in possession - the second was all New Zealand.

For too long though, those 20-odd chances the home side created in the second 45 minutes seemed destined to count for nothing.

That, as coach Ricki Herbert admitted, would have been a huge disappointment for him, his players and the estimated 10,000-strong crowd who turned out for the first soccer international in Christchurch in a decade.

The fledgling side, taking their first tentative steps on the road to who knows where, did some things well. At other times their lack of understanding and minimal time together was obvious.

But the All Whites were more organised than their opponents and played with the variety expected at this level.

Whereas the home side attempted to build through the midfield - even if at times they played too much up the middle - the visitors lacked imagination.

They relied heavily on striker Moho Safee Moho Sali to use his pace in attempting to burst through the patient New Zealand defence who restricted the Malays to a handful of half chances.

Old, especially when under some pressure in the first half, was outstanding and given the chance to play alongside captain Danny Hay in his preferred central defensive role, he again showed the composure which has marked him as one of the best.

His goal was the icing on a man-of-the-match cake he shared with Leo Bertos.

But it was a long time coming.

Sali had the first shot in anger - a hopeful long-range effort after four minutes - before the Bertos-Old combination popped up three minutes later when the All Whites won their first corner.

Debutant Andy Barron then headed over. Sadly, the pattern of near misses continued with Bertos too denied when he fired a shot out of nothing just wide.

With Vaughan Coveny and Brent Fisher in their twin striking role closely marked by Ronny Harun and Malaysian captain Norhafiz Zamini Misbah, the attack was crying for width which did not come until Herbert called for a reshuffle midway through the spell.

The visitors stayed with a flat back four throughout which offered the New Zealand attack some hope but they could not turn that into goals.

Adrian Webster and Bertos had late chances in the first spell but just missed their target.

The second half was all New Zealand. They won five corners to none to take the overall count to 8-1. The shot count - not necessarily on target - was embarrassingly one-sided with only some good work from goalkeeper Moho Syamsuri and the woodwork denying the home side.

Bertos linked with Tim Brown midway through the spell but Brown's shot rattled the crossbar after Hay had earlier headed a Barron corner into the side net.

The pressure - both on the visitors' goal and the New Zealand team - continued to build until Old mercifully whipped home his winner three minutes from the scheduled end which was later stretched by five minutes.

Herbert seized the opportunity to blood a number of players with Jeff Fleming and Jeremy Brockie joining the goalkeeper Glen Moss, who had little to deal with, and Barron in making their debuts.

"Some of the individual performances were great," said Herbert. "Where was Andy Barron six months ago? It is a long time for us between now and the World Cup. We must use that to prepare as well as we possibly can."

Malaysian coach Haji Norizan Bakar too was pleased with his team's effort and the manner in which they had coped.

"New Zealand's players were bigger in terms of being physical," said Bakar. "But I can see we have a team who can move us forward."

Both teams have another chance at North Harbour Stadium in Thursday's return.

The All Whites will be without Coveny, who returns to Australia today having again missed the chance to become New Zealand's most prolific goalscorer.

That chance still beckons, surely, in forthcoming internationals against Chile, Brazil and whatever other names New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter pulls out of the hat.

The 72-internationals veteran deserves that.