10.30am
UPDATE - New Zealand's soccer journey towards the Confederations Cup opened in encouraging fashion with a 1-1 draw against Scotland at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh today.
All Whites defender Ryan Nelsen levelled the scores early in the second half to earn a deserved result for his team in a fine result considering their lack of preparation.
The All Whites, ranked 13 places above Scotland at 51 in the world, were nevertheless expected to struggle as they had only spent a handful of days preparing in Britain.
However, they created a number of chances as the home side earned the wrath of the 10,000-strong crowd, apart from a vocal pocket of 300 New Zealanders.
Scotland went ahead in the 11th minute when Stephen Crawford, headed home from a James McFadden corner.
It was poor work from New Zealand goalkeeper Michael Utting to allow the Dumfermline Athletic striker, the second-highest scorer in this year's Scottish premier league, to rise unopposed 1m out from goal.
The game opened up at the 20-minute mark, with both teams pushing numbers forward and creating chances.
The All Whites' best first-half opportunity came when the dangerous Noah Hickey was put clear on the left hand side of the goalbox but was halted by desperate Scotland defender Steven Pressley. Earlier, Gerard David had a clear header at goal from a corner but his effort went wide.
Young Scotland forward James McFadden caused problems with the ball at his feet on the left-hand side, while midfielder Paul Devlin also caused concerns.
New Zealand coach Mick Waitt made two changes at halftime, bringing on Jason Batty for Utting and defender Duncan Oughton for David Mulligan.
It was just two minutes after the break that outstanding defender Ryan Nelsen found an equaliser, sliding between defenders Kevin Kyle and Gary Naysmith to latch onto a long-range free kick from Aaran Lines.
It was appropriate Nelsen should score the first goal of the All Whites' tour as it was his strike against Australia that earned their Oceania berth at the Confederations Cup in France.
Ten minutes after the goal, Lines nearly put the visitors ahead when he robbed Pressley of possession to be one-on-one with Robert Douglas, but the Celtic goalkeeper made an out-stretched save from a 20m shot.
New Zealand were without three key players on club duty -- Ivan Vicelich (Roda JC), Shane Smeltz (Adelaide City Force) and Gavin Wilkinson (Portland Timber) -- while Oldham Athletic striker Chris Killen was not considered due to injury.
Scotland, without injured captain Paul Lambert, were looking for a strong performance ahead of next month's Euro 2004 qualifier against Germany.
But coach Berti Vogts' men struggled to stamp any authority and squandered their best scoring opportunities.
The All Whites will now leave their Birmingham base for the United States. They have warm-up games against the Virginia Beach Mariners on June 3 and play the United States, also in Virginia, on June 8.
They return to Europe for a game against a French selection on June 13.
New Zealand's Confederations Cup campaign opens with a match against Japan in Paris on June 18.
There were three further New Zealand substitutions in the second half.
Midfielder Raf de Gregario replaced Chris Jackson after 54 minutes, defender Scott Smith came on for Chris Zorocich after 69 minutes, and Chris Bouckenhooghe was introduced for Lines with nine minutes to go.
Nelsen had mixed feelings about the result.
"It was encouraging but I still think we could do a hell of a lot better," he told NZPA.
"I suppose we're happy with the result but we missed a couple of chances, I missed one in the first half and Linesy missed a one-on-one that could have won us the game.
"In saying that, we're playing away and it's our first game of the year. So to get a 1-1 the boys can't be too disappointed."
Manager Colin Stone said there were no serious injury concerns from the match although Jackson had a sore body after a rugged time in midfield.
- NZPA
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