The All Whites celebrated their long-awaited return to Wellington with a 2-1 win over China at Sky Stadium.

Interim head coach Darren Bazeley had selected an attacking line-up, bringing Eli Just, Callum McCowatt and Marco Rojas in to support striker Alex Greive. The team dominated the first half and could have taken the lead in the 33rd minute when Eli Just was brought down for a penalty. Alex Greive stepped up to take the shot but it was saved by Yan Junling in the Chinese net. 

 

10 minutes later the deadlock was broken. A Marco Rojas freekick searching for the head of Michael Boxall found a Chinese defender instead who deflected it into his own net. While it was unfortunate for the player the All Whites lead at the break was deserved. 

The start of second half saw the All Whites continue to dominate possession and have the better chances. 

As a game went on substitutes Clayton Lewis, Max Mata, Callan Elliot and Matt Garbett entered the field. Just 6 minutes after his introduction, Matt Garbett doubled the All Whites lead with a well taken goal in the 81st minute. Some neat passing between Joe Bell and Clayton Lewis opened up the space for Bell to play a pinpoint ball over the top to the Garbett who had made a late run into the box. He trapped the ball on his chest before turning and finishing past the keeper. 

 

Darren Bazeley's final subsitutions saw Kosta Barbarouses come on and Kyle Adams make his All Whites debut. 

China got a consolation goal in stoppage time with a well-placed header from Ba Dun.  

The win is the first for the All Whites in New Zealand against a non-OFC side since Bahrain in 2009. 

Following the match, interim head coach Darren Bazeley was pleased with the showing from his team:

“I thought it was a really strong performance. A lot of good possession. The team we put out was a very attack minded team and we had some really good patterns and moments… and created some really good chances.”

 

Final Score:

New Zealand 2 - (Zhu Chenjie OG 43’, Matt Garbett 81’)
China 1 - (Ba Dun 90+2)

Article added: Sunday 26 March 2023