The Men’s National Team continued their return to the international stage this morning with a win 1-0 against Bahrain, finishing their October tour with two back-to-back victories. 

The score line, echoing the famous result 12 years ago which took New Zealand to the FIFA World Cup, came courtesy of an 89th minute winner from Niko Kirwan. The full back headed in a Liberato Cacace cross for his first international goal after making his debut in the previous game. 

Watch highlights of the game on our YouTube channel
 

The All Whites dominated from the start of the match. Debutant Joe Champness shone playing wide on the right, one of the five players brought in following Sunday’s 2-1 over Curaçao along with Michael Woud, Kelvin Kalua, Michael Boxall and Elijah Just. The side also set up in a different formation, switching from a 442 diamond to a 433. 

The side featured nine players who had been part of the Olympic campaign, with an average age of 23.3, as Head Coach Danny Hay looked to build on the momentum established with the team which reached the Tokyo 2020 quarter-finals. 

The speed and trickery of Champness caused a number of problems for the Bahraini defence, notably in the 40th minute when after beating their left back he forced keeper Ebrahim Lutfalla into a save. That was one of several good opportunities for the team to take the lead after both Elijah Just and Callum McCowatt went close in the 5th and 30th minute respectively. 

The second half was a closer affair as the Bahrain side grew into the game at their national stadium, but the better chances still fell to New Zealand. 

In the 89th minute the pressure finally told as Niko Kirwan headed in the winner. 

After the match Danny Hay was happy with the result but also felt there was more to come from his side:

“Really pleased with the performance from the players. Tough conditions as we know but I thought they showed a lot of courage and were really quite resilient.

“I think over the course of the two games we could have scored a few more goals, we could have won them both more comprehensively, but all in all absolutely pleased with the application of the players.”

Starting Line-Up:

GK Michael Woud (2 Caps) Almere City FC, Netherlands
LB Liberato Cacace (4 Caps) Sint-Truidense VV, Belgium
RB Kelvin Kalua (1 Caps) Eastern Suburbs, New Zealand (currently on trial in Europe)
CB Michael Boxall (34 Caps) Minnesota United, USA
CB Nando Pijnaker (2 Cap) FC Helsingør (loan from Rio Ave FC), Denmark
CM Joe Bell (3 Caps) Viking FK, Norway
CM Marko Stamenic (1 Caps) HB Køge (on loan from FC Copenhagen), Denmark
CM Elijah Just (3 Caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark
FW Joseph Champness (0 Caps) Giresunspor, Turkey
FW Callum McCowatt (2 Cap) FC Helsingør, Denmark
FW Chris Wood (57 Caps) Burnley FC, England

Article added: Wednesday 13 October 2021