The All Whites have been defeated 3-1 by Ireland in the first match of Danny Hay’s reign but he will take plenty of positives after a promising display from his new-look line-up.

Hay had indicated he was going to give opportunities to young talent by picking seven uncapped players in his squad and he handed three of those starts at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with Joe Bell, Elijah Just and Callum McCowatt all making their debuts.

Each gave a good account of themselves on the senior international stage with Bell particularly impressive in his deep-lying role in front of the back four while Just and McCowatt both caused problems at times for the Irish defence.

The newcomers were joined by a spine of experience in the starting line-up as Winston Reid, Ryan Thomas and Chris Wood all featured for the All Whites for the first time since the end of 2017 while Bayern Munich midfielder Sarpreet Singh took on the playmaker’s mantle in the middle of the park.

It was an exciting mix of proven and promising talent, and all had licence to express themselves as Hay had made clear his intention to adopt a possession-based, attack-minded approach.

That proved difficult in the early stages as Ireland, ranked 85 places above New Zealand, dominated the ball but the All Whites began to grow into the game and silenced the locals with a goal of exceptional quality on the half hour.

In a passage of play that provided a perfect snapshot of Hay’s philosophy, the outstanding Thomas combined with Wood in some sharp interplay before releasing Liberato Cacace to cross for McCowatt, who slid in to score on debut.

New Zealand appeared likely to enter the break with a lead but Ireland hit back on the stroke of half-time, equalising when Derrick Williams headed in a Robbie Brady corner.

Skipper Reid, who has only recently returned from injury, was replaced at half-time as Ireland carried their momentum into the second period.

The hosts took the lead in stunning style soon after the restart when Sean Maguire sent a rocket past Stefan Marinovic, who could do nothing about that strike but made several other fine saves to keep his side in the game.

Both teams rung the changes in the remainder of the match and it was just after a double substitution for the All Whites that Ireland extended their lead with a Callum Robinson header.

There was still time for a further debutant for New Zealand as Elliot Collier entered the fray late on and he nearly joined McCowatt in making a goalscoring introduction but saw his effort saved.

Hay made it clear before the match that the result was of little importance and he was very satisfied with what he saw at Aviva Stadium. 

"I'm incredibly pleased with aspects of the game," he said.

"I thought our bravery in possession, willingness to build up from deep and the comfort levels of some of the young players at that level of football were all outstanding. And it was great to see players like Ryan Thomas and Winston Reid, who have had an incredibly frustrating 12 to 18 months, getting back on the pitch." 

He also had some special words of praise for all of the debutants. 

"Joe didn't look out of place at all, he was very comfortable in possession. Then Callum got the goal, Elijah was brilliant and I thought Elliot was very good when he came on as well," he said.

"So I'm pleased for those players but also pleased that we did what we said we were going to do, which was to put the first piece of the jigsaw in place in terms of changing the way the All Whites play."

The All Whites will now travel to Vilnius, where they will take on Lithuania in their second and final match of the November window in the early hours of Monday morning (NZT), live on Sky Sport.

Match Details

Ireland 3 (Derrick Williams 45’, Sean Maguire 52’, Callum Robinson 75’)
New Zealand 1 (Callum McCowatt 30’)
HT: 1-1

New Zealand: 1. Stefan Marinovic (GK), 2. Winston Reid (c) (6. Bill Tuiloma 46’), 3. Liberato Cacace, 5. Michael Boxall (20. Tommy Smith 74’), 7. Joe Bell, 9. Chris Wood (15. Andre de Jong 76’), 10. Sarpreet Singh, 12. Callum McCowatt (18. Elliot Collier 85’), 14. Ryan Thomas (8. Michael McGlinchey 74’), 21. Storm Roux (16. Tim Payne 90 + 2’), 22. Elijah Just
Substitutes not used: 11. Marco Rojas, 13. James McGarry, 17. Max Mata, 19. Alex Rufer, 23. Matt Ridenton, 24. Michael Woud (GK)
Coach: Danny Hay

Article added: Friday 15 November 2019