Player Ratings: New Zealand 1-0 Bahrain

New Zealand

Mark Paston – 7.5: Pulled off some vital saves, none more so than the penalty block at the start of the second half. It was not the best penalty ever, but he did well to get down to repel it. Instrumental early on, when the All Whites weathered a lot of pressure.

Tony Lochhead – 5.5: The defender didn’t look comfortable as a right wing-back for much of the game, uncertain whether to push on or drop back and defend. Gave away the penalty with an obvious lunge, but when he switched to a more conventional right-back role he looked better for it.

Ben Sigmund – 6: Booked early on for a heavy tackle, it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the Wellington Phoenix defender, but he pulled himself together as the game wore on and had a solid match at the heart of the defence

Ryan Nelson – 7: A composed game as the spare man at the back, he wasn‘t always evident, yet his presence throughout was continuous as he cajoled his under-fire back line through a difficult opening before settling them down to keep the all important clean-sheet. 

Michael McGlinchy – 6: The young defender had a reasonable hour or so down the left-hand side of the defence. Had one excellent tackle on Jaycee John that showed he knows how to dispossess his man, and he was unlucky to be penalised.

Tim Brown – 6: The midfield enforcer had a wild game in the middle of the park, throwing himself into tackles with vigour and gusto, often with a bit too much energy. Led with the elbow on a couple of occasions and almost inevitably injured himself when a cracked knee sustained in giving away a free kick in the final ten minutes forced him off.

Shane Smeltz – 5.5: The Gold Coast United forward didn’t have the best of matches but as the game wore on his pace became more useful as New Zealand played on the counterattack. Missed a couple of good chances towards the end of the game.

Chris Killen – 6.5: The Celtic forward had a good match up front, hitting the bar early on. His work-rate was illustrated when he robbed Adnan late on to set up a chance. Worked himself into the ground and was subbed on 82 minutes

Leo Bertos – 7.5: The ex-Rochdale man was one of the key men for the hosts. Has always threatened to be a star in the making but came into his own during this game. Delivered some excellent balls into the box for the bigger New Zealand attackers to feed off and eventually got one perfect for Fallon to head home the all-important goal just before the break.

Rory Fallon – 8: Scored the goal that will send an entire nation football loopy next summer. The big Plymouth Argyle target-man made a total pest of himself the entire match and was a particular threat in the air, where he terrorised the Bahrain defence. 

Subs:

Andrew Barron – 6: Came on as New Zealand changed their shape to a 4-4-2 in the midfield. Helped steer his country through some tricky moments.

Chris Wood – 6: The young West Bromwich Albion forward came on with just under ten minutes of normal time left to play.  Got himself in a great position for a second but Fallon didn’t see him.

Andrew Boyens – n/a: Defender who came on in the final moments for the injured Brown, but didn’t get enough time to make a genuine impact

Bahrain

Sayed Mohammed Jaffer – 7: Pulled off a couple of excellent saves, including one outstanding block just before the goal. However, it was to no avail. He had no chance with the bullet header from Fallon for the winning goal

Abdulla Fatadi – 6.5: Worked hard throughout the game and made some crucial blocks and tackles to keep the score at 1-0. Nearly got himself in at the other end late on but was penalised for an illegal jump.

Mohamed Hubail – 6.5: Like Fatadi, he was at times over-worked by the more physical approach employed by New Zealanders. Forced into some good tackles and blocks. 

Jaycee John – 6: Big things were expected of the in-form Mouscron striker, but the youngster failed to deliver over the course of the 90 minutes. Had one shot that looked destined for the top corner athletically tipped away by Paston, but other than that spent large periods on the edge of the game. When Bahrain needed him most, he failed to show for the ball.

Sayed Mahmood Jalal – 6: The Al-Muharraq midfielder had an industrious game in the midfield but was sacrificed for a more attacking option in the shape of Mahmoud Abdulrahman with ten minutes to go.

Mohamed Salmeen – 5.5: The UAE-based player worked his socks off in his country’s cause, as indeed did all the Bahraini players, but he was unable to make the difference.

Faouzi Aaish – 5.5: Booked midway through the first half but helped screen the back line where possible. In addition, he broke dangerously forward on occasion. Subbed with just over 15 minutes to go for Latif.

Salman Isa – 6: Was unable to repeat his heroics of fours year ago, when he scored against Trinidad and Tobago. Whilst he showed some good pace to get forward often down the right wing, he was unable to deliver a telling ball into the box.

Abdullah Omar – 7: Arguably the outfield player of the match for the Bahrainis, he worked up and down the pitch relentlessly. Played a couple of excellent balls into the box and linked up well with John on occasion.

Sayed Mohamed Adnan – 3: It’s hard to pick out one player who was at fault for Bahrain, but unfortunately poor Adnan will have to shoulder much of the blame. Not only did he miss the penalty kick in the second half that would have equalised, but he also was at fault for the goal, allowing Fallon a free header to score.

Baba – 5: A quiet match in the midfield as he struggled to make any obvious impression on the game. 

Subs

Ismaeel Latif – 5: Thrown on for Faouzi on 73 minutes in the hope of getting some more presence in the box alongside John, but failed to really trouble the New Zealand defence

Mahmood Abdulrahman – 5: Came on for Jalal on 79 minutes but didn’t have enough time to really make an impact. 

Ahmed Hassan Taleb – n/a: Given five minutes up front as a auxiliary striker but failed to make any difference to the outcome of the game.

Walter Townsend, Goal.com