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141109
Head Boy Fallon Fires All Whites To World Cup Glory
by Jeremy Ruane
The All Whites qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa on 14 November, Rory Fallon’s headed goal on the stroke of half-time downing Bahrain 1-0 on aggregate and delighting a record New Zealand football crowd of 35,134 at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, as well as many more watching on TV around the country and the world.
Despite the typically bleak, unforgiving Wellington weather conditions, Bahrain took the game to their opponents from the outset, knowing that an early goal would cause the All Whites consternation aplenty, in light of the scoreless draw when the teams clashed in the first leg of this clash a month ago.
A crunching Ben Sigmund tackle in the third minute earned the defender a yellow card from well-performed Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda, while from the resulting free-kick Salman Isa rattled the side-netting with a rasping twenty yarder, as the All Whites struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages.
Gradually they settled, however, with Leo Bertos’ eighth minute free-kick signalling that the home team was getting to grips with the challenge facing them. His deep delivery to the far post was headed back across goal by Chris Killen to Ryan Nelsen, but the captain was unable to get a clean contact on his heading opportunity.
Killen - a towering display in attack - and Bertos combined in the twelfth minute for the latter to whip in a cross for Fallon, who was having a battle royal with Sayed Mohamed in the early stages of this clash.
Namesake Sayed Jalal eventually cleared this threat, but the signs were there for Bahrain - they could ill afford defensive lapses given New Zealand’s aerial presence, particularly from set-pieces.
It was an avenue the home team exploited again in the nineteenth minute. Bertos’ free-kick picked out Sigmund, who headed down for Killen to swivel and unleash a fierce dipping left-foot volley from fifteen yards which crashed against Bahrain’s crossbar.
The visitors breathed a hefty sigh of relief, and did so again four minutes later after Bertos was crudely felled by Jalal on the edge of the penalty area. The All Whites’ set-piece specialist picked himself up, dusted himself down and unleashed a wicked curling free-kick which flashed a foot over the angle of far post and crossbar.
Bahrain were riding the storm as the All Whites surged at them repeatedly, but they stunned the locals on the half-hour mark with two chances in a minute, either of which could have stunned the white-clad crowd into silence.
Instead, they were collectively singing the praises of Mark Paston, who made a magnificent save to keep out Jaycee Okwunwa’s ferocious twenty yard volley, after the All Whites had failed to deal with a free-kick.
They failed to adequately deal with the repercussions following the rebound as well. The ball was cleared to the hard-working Abdulla Omar, who whipped in a cross which eventually fell kindly for his captain, Mohamed Salmeen, who dashed into the six-yard box. Paston was alert to the danger, and saved in timely fashion at the midfielder’s feet.
Inspired by these opportunities, Bahrain pressed again ten minutes before half-time, Omar again the source of the opportunity. He played the ball towards the fast-thinking Abdulla Fatadi, whose deft dummy put Okwunwa in on goal. But the striker blazed his chance wildly over the crossbar - a poor finish.
Not that New Zealand were complaining, of course. They rode out this brief flurry before mounting an all-out assault on the Bahrain goal in an effort to head to the dressing rooms at half-time with an all-important goal to their credit.
Four minutes before the break, Bertos got the better of Isa on the right and clipped in a measured cross for Fallon. How goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer kept this out only he will know - it was a magnificent one-handed save, made even more spectacular by the fact that he was falling away from the ball as he flung out his left arm in an effort to keep the scores even.
He succeeded on this occasion, but Fallon wasn’t to be denied a second time. After Okwunwa stumbled at the vital moment as he looked to capitalise on a slick one-two down the left between Fouzi Aaish and Jalal, the All Whites earned a corner with time all but up in the first half.
Bertos’ delivery picked out Fallon once more, and from six yards, he sent a header bulleting past Jaffer and into the top corner of the net, instantly releasing an immense amount of nervous energy which had built up among all present in the arena.
Would it be the $US 14 million goal on which New Zealand Football could hang its hat for years to come? Forty-five minutes, forty-five tense, nerve-wracking minutes would provide the answer.
After just six of them, the stadium was stunned into silence - referee Larrionda was pointing to the penalty spot, and Bahrain were just twelve yards away from turning the tie on its head with a vital away goal.
They had contrived a neat move as they approached down the right, with Fatadi’s slide rule pass in behind Tony Lochhead inviting Omar to skip into the penalty area. The All White’s despairing ball-winning lunge caught the overlapping fullback from behind, and the official didn’t hesitate - spot-kick.
Up stepped Mohamed, thousands of pairs of Kiwi eyes focusing on him, willing the Bahrain defender to miss. People power prevailed, and so did Paston, diving to his right to smother what was, in truth, a pathetic penalty attempt.
Unperturbed, the visitors pressed on, Okwunwa rattling the side-netting with a shot on the turn before Salmeen played Omar in down the right, and his deep cross was gathered and returned into the danger zone by Isa.
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 Standing: Tim Brown, Chris Killen, Shane Smeltz, Mark Paston, Tony Lochhead, Rory Fallon
Crouching: Ben Sigmund, Ryan Nelsen (c), Leo Bertos, Ivan Vicelich, Michael McGlinchey
 Rory Fallon heads home NZ's $US 14m goal ...
 ... and subsequent celebrations
 Mark Paston's penalty save
 Ryan Nelsen heads clear, watched by Mark Paston
 Coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ryan Nelsen celebrate qualification
 Ivan Vicelich wins an aerial duel with Abdulla Fatadi
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Nelsen headed the ball out for a 58th minute corner, which wasn’t cleared in emphatic fashion. Bahrain probed for an opening as the All Whites looked to plug all gaps, but a crafty back-heel from Omar unhinged them, putting Salmeen in on the right. His cross, intended for Okwunwa, was gleefully grabbed by Paston.
The latest Bahraini storm weathered, the All Whites set about re-establishing their attacking credentials, Killen leading the charge. He worked an opening down the left in the 67th minute, only for Omar to intercept his cross, which was intended for Fallon.
The clearance didn’t go far, however, for Shane Smeltz controlled the ball and rolled it into the path of Bertos, who was in full flight as he appeared on the scene, and duly hit the ball with all his might … how Aaish stayed on his feet after heading the ball to safety defies logic, because that sphere was shifting at a great rate of knots, en route to the top corner of the net as well.
Three minutes later, Lochhead picked out Fallon with a cross-field ball which saw the goalscorer work a one-two with Bertos, who buccaneered down the right and took advantage of an untimely stumble by Aaish to get in behind Bahrain’s defence to cross to the near post. Smeltz was arriving on cue, but steered his shot wide from six yards.
Bahrain were living dangerously, but they had to - they were twenty minutes away from bowing out of their second successive World Cup Finals via a sudden death play-off.
Caution wasn’t relevant, and they threw it to the wind, leaving themselves wide open for the sort of counter-attack which Lochhead launched in the 81st minute, with a ball which allowed Smeltz to steam down the left past an opponent before picking out Fallon with a pass. The striker raced on, only for the covering figure of Hussain Baba to clear for a corner.
Bertos’ delivery picked out Fallon, who headed the ball down to Killen. His finish, on this occasion, was nowhere near as accurate as his first half volley on the turn had been, and nowhere near as timely as Ivan Vicelich’s vital challenge to deny Mohamed Hubail on the edge of his penalty area six minutes before the end.
The All White star made history as New Zealand’s most capped "A" international in this match, and it was fitting that he was one of the best-performed players on his 65th full international appearance for his country.
Back came the home team, urged on by their fans. Substitute Chris Wood galloped clear on the right before picking out Smeltz, only for Mohamed to intervene. Smeltz then linked up with Fallon, whose volley was parried to safety by Jaffer as Wood came racing in, anticipating a rebound in another direction.
Bahrain were denied a goal two minutes from time after two players impeded Paston as he looked to deal with the ricochet following Mahmood Abdulrahman’s free-kick, a threat to which the All Whites responded by twice going close in stoppage time.
Bertos battled through three challenges before setting up Smeltz, who was thwarted by some brave Bahraini defending. Seconds later, Fallon and Wood combined to present their strike partner with a chance, but Smeltz, having done everything right and beaten Jaffer all ends up, looked on in horror as the ball crept agonisingly past the far post.
There was still a chance for Bahrain to level matters, and a free-kick deep in stoppage time gave them the perfect opportunity. Abdulrahman’s delivery picked out the head of Okwunwa, but he guided the ball straight into the gloves of Paston, who launched it skywards as the final whistle sounded, three trills which kicked off the biggest party New Zealand’s capital city will ever see.
There was laughter, delight, tears of joy, and miles and miles of beaming smiles all around Westpac Stadium as New Zealand’s players, coaching staff and fans celebrated the All Whites’ qualification for South Africa 2010 as one, ending a twenty-seven year wait since New Zealand’s last involvement in the finals of the world’s greatest sporting event.
Coach Ricki Herbert and his assistant, Brian Turner, were heavily involved on the playing side of that 1982 campaign, while their coach in that memorable episode in New Zealand’s history was Kevin Fallon, the father of the goalscorer in this match whose headed goal means so much more to the game in this country than its financial worth, substantial though this is.
NZ Football will be able to do an awful lot for the game in this country with the guaranteed $US 9m which qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals ensures, not to mention the $US 5m in associated endorsements.
But the prospect of thousands of New Zealand youngsters being able to watch the World Cup Finals and see the All Whites competing on the world game’s greatest stage, and the potential repercussions that holds? You can’t put a price on that.
New Zealand: Paston; Sigmund (booked, 3), Nelsen, Vicelich; Bertos, Brown (Boyens, 90), McGlinchey (Barron, 64), Lochhead; Killen (Wood, 83), Fallon, Smeltz
Bahrain: Jaffer; Omar, Baba, Mohamed, Isa; M. Hubail (Hassan Taleb, 85), Fatadi, Jalal (Abdulrahman, 79), Salmeen, Aaish (booked, 27) (Latif, 73); Okwunwa (booked, 90)
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)
NB The following countries have qualified for South Africa 2010:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Denmark, DPR Korea, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Holland, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa (hosts), Spain, Switzerland, USA, Uruguay.
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