New Zealand 1
Cameroon 1
New Zealand have made a positive start to the men's under-20 soccer World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Cameroon in Cali, Colombia, today.
The Junior All Whites fell behind when Christ Mbondi slotted a rebound from a 33rd minute penalty saved by Stefan
Marinovic.
Seven minutes later the scores were levelled by Cameroonian defender Serge Tchaha who, under pressure from Dakota Lucas, headed a Ryan Cain cross past his goalkeeper and into his own net.
Substitutes Sean Lovemore and Tim Payne almost combined for what would have been a 75th minute winner for New Zealand but Lovemore could not keep his close-range volley down after meeting Payne's perfectly flighted cross.
The point, New Zealand's first at a men's under-20 World Cup, keeps the Junior All Whites in the hunt for a place in the round of 16 but they must beat either Uruguay or Portugal in their remaining group B matches.
"It's good to get the first point,'' New Zealand coach Chris Milicich said.
"The objective from today was to be really tight, not concede and be really competitive in the game.
"We hit the wall with about 20 to go and I think that was due to the heat and the ground and the overwhelming noise from the crowd.
"The players couldn't hear themselves so there were a couple of errors that occurred."
Result:
New Zealand 1 (Serge Tchana own goal) Cameroon 1 (Christ Mbondi). Halftime: 1-1
- NZPA
