All Whites reminded of ‘need to be more clinical’ after win over Curaao – Stuff.co.nz

Wins against teams from outside Oceania dont come around often for the All Whites.

After beating Curaao 2-1 on Sunday [NZ time], they now have a total of nine in the past 15 years.

But they were left with plenty to ponder after allowing their opponents to come back into the contest when they could have been out of sight.

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The All Whites celebrate their opening goal against Curaao.

A free kick from Bill Tuiloma which took a deflection and a fierce finish from Chris Wood following a turnover high up the pitch gave the All Whites a 2-0 lead at halftime at Bahrain National Stadium.

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But they didnt take the chances that were there to extend it further and after Rangelo Janga capitalised on a defensive error with 20 minutes to play, they finished the game mostly on the back foot, seeking to prevent an equaliser.

They did just that, with Stefan Marinovic making a vital save following a quick free kick, and were ultimately able to celebrate at the end of a mostly promising outing.

The referee shifted between being too lenient and too onerous. He could have blown for fouls in the lead-up to Woods goal as well as in the lead-up to Jangas and there was frustration at his decision-making from both sides, though it never got out of hand.

All Whites coach Danny Hay was pleased to have secured his first win in his third match in charge of the senior national team, which was also its first in almost 700 days, when he spoke via Zoom from the car park afterwards.

He was pleased with how they had pressed and won the ball in dangerous areas, an approach that was aided by Curaaos insistence on playing out when they werent equipped to do so under pressure.

And while he lamented the fact they didnt kill the game off and ended up having to grind out a result defensively in the end, he thought it would be valuable lesson for his young team.

If you look at the chances we had in the first half and early in the second, there were some really good opportunities, and we could have won three or four-nil comfortably.

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All Whites goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic made a crucial late intervention to deny Curaao midfielder Leandro Bacuna.

But again it's a very good learning for a very young group that we need to be more clinical in those periods, or you allow teams to get back into the game.

Seven of the All Whites starters were aged 22 or younger, including teenage debutants Matt Garbett and Marko Stamenic, who were able to display their technical ability in a match Hay described as robust.

Right backs Niko Kirwan and Kelvin Kalua were the other All Whites debutants, in a position where the countrys established options were unavailable as a result of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Kirwan was at fault for Curaaos goal after mistiming a free header in his own box, but while Hay acknowledged it was a frustrating way to concede, he wasnt going to let it take away from the rest of his maiden outing, which ended when he was replaced by Kalua in the 87th minute.

For such a long period, Niko was excellent, Hay said. I thought he showed a lot of intensity, a lot of fight, and really wanted to defend and do his work for the team.

The All Whites now have two days to prepare for their second match of the October window, where they will face a strong opponent in Bahrain [kickoff 5am Wednesday NZ time], but wont be able to call on Sarpreet Singh, who has been released back to his German club Jahn Regensburg

I thought Sarpreet was outstanding. Hay said in singling him out for praise, alongside Callum McCowatt and Stamenic.

I think he showed his class and a lot of the game plan for us was trying to get him on the ball facing forward in dangerous areas and then trying to reward some of the forward runs.

He's an incredibly intelligent player and he's one that we need to look after and nurture and with that in mind we're letting him go back to Germany now, so he's not going to be playing against Bahrain.

We're absolutely aware that he is in a critical period of his professional career and that he needs to cement himself fully in the German game, which we know is one of the toughest places in the world.

Bill Tuiloma left the field late with a hip flexor injury, but the initial assessment was that he would be available to play Bahrain. Fellow centre back Michael Boxall had been unable to start, having been ill and unable to train during the week, but came on in place of Tuiloma and could be set for a bigger role.

All Whites 2 (Bill Tuiloma 9, Chris Wood 33) Curaao 1 (Rangelo Janga 72). HT: 2-0

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All Whites reminded of 'need to be more clinical' after win over Curaao - Stuff.co.nz