A second-string Belarus combination proved far too strong for the All Whites at Minsk's Trakter Stadium on June 12, the 1-0 scoreline flattering the beaten FIFA Confederations Cup-bound side, who could have opened the scoring just three minutes into this friendly international. A marvellous move was started by Andrew Durante, and saw the ball flowing through Michael Boxall, Declan Wynne, Chris Wood, Ryan Thomas, Shane Smeltz to Marco Rojas, who played it wide to Kip Colvey on the right flank. The wingback needed some support, which Rojas provided with a smart off-the-ball run, enabling a one-two to be played which afforded Colvey the space from which to whip a low cross into the goalmouth, to which both Smeltz and the fast-arriving figure of Wood were unable to do justice as the ball zoomed across their bows. Sadly, that was as good as it got for Anthony Hudson's side, who, when they did get possession as the match wore on, generally tended to give it straight back to Belarus with ye olde hit-and-hope balls forward, Wood their rarely found target. How that approach contrasted with the stylish display of Belarus. Their passing was flowing and purposeful, their play composed and confident, and in playmaker Ivan Mayeuski, flank player Ihar Burko and set-piece specialist Alexei Rios, they boasted the three best-performed players on the park. It was Maksim Skavysh who enjoyed Belarus' first chance, the striker swooping on a poorly hit Colvey pass to skip round the stranded figure of Durante before lifting a cross-shot across the face of goal. Belarus gradually got on top in this rain-affected contest, and by the 26th minute were beginning to dictate terms. A Rios corner picked out the head of Dzianis Paliakov, who directed his header straight at Stefan Marinovic - the first attempt on target by the host nation, but by no means the last. Three minutes later, Marinovic made a smart save to his right to thwart their second attempt. Mayeuski and Rios linked on the left, before a swift four-pass interchange saw the ball swept across the pitch to the right flank, where Skavysh played the ball wide to Burko. He cut inside and unleashed a twenty yarder which deflected off Rojas, rendering Marinovic's save - he held onto the ball at full stretch - even better than it first appeared. Ten minutes before half-time, Belarus threatened again, and again it was via a Rios corner, earned after Burko and Artem Byukov - fine off-the-ball movement - had combined on the right. This delivery picked out Sergei Politsevich's head, but the defender's effort flew over the bar. Two minutes before half-time, route one nearly worked for the All Whites, their first attack of note since that splendid third minute move. This was far less sophisticated - a hoisted ball forward by Durante picked out Wood, who initially got the better of Paliakov, only for the defender to come back at the All Whites' captain and deny him the chance to open the scoring. Paliakov did that very thing 65 seconds into the second half. Straight from the kick-off, Belarus forced a corner, which Rios played short to the unmarked Burko, loitering near the edge of the penalty area. His lobbed cross to the far post found a two-on-one situation in Belarus' favour, and Paliakov gleefully slammed the ball home past Marinovic from close range to delight the natives who braved the bleak conditions in the nation's capital. The All Whites tried to muster a response to the goal, but they lacked the quality to penetrate the

well-structured Belarus side, whose goalkeeper, Andrei Klimovich, barely touched the ball throughout proceedings. The same can't be said of his opposite number, with Marinovic's goal coming under threat at regular intervals throughout the second spell, more often than not via a set-piece delivery from Rios. His 52nd minute corner to the near post was met on the volley by Mayeuski, who was unfortunate to see the ball fly narrowly wide. Four minutes later, a deep corner from Rios was headed down by goalscorer Paliakov to Mayeuski, whose lay-off invited Bykov to et fly. Only the lunging figure of Boxall prevented him from getting his shot on target on this occasion. The All Whites' defender was fortunate to stay on the park later in the match, with two nasty challenges on Mayeuski forcing the withdrawal of the danger man. An errant elbow caught substitute Pavel Savitski at one stage in the second half, but when fellow substitute Dzianis Laptsev gave Boxall a taste of his own medicine late in the contest, the defender didn't like it one little bit, his reaction sparking a brief gathering of the clans, with order swiftly being restored by Russian referee Mikhail Vilkov. Belarus, meanwhile, had continued to threaten to build on their one-goal advantage. A Rios free-kick in the 68th minute wasn't cleared, allowing Laptsev to lash a shot from ten yards through a forest of legs. Marinovic, seeing it late, did well to smother the effort low by his right-hand post, and got down well to smother a thirty yarder from Pavel Savitski six minutes later, as the hosts threatened once more. The All Whites, mounting a rare raid as the game entered the last ten minutes, came close to equalising with what turned out to be the last attack of note in the contest. Bill Tuiloma lobbed a ball into the danger zone which Wood flicked on. Substitute Costa Barbarouses stole in looking to turn the ball home, but Klimovich was on hand to block the danger. Wynne, following in, got to the loose ball and turned it inside for Wood, whose shot was deflected to safety by Nikita Korzun, the only time the visitors threatened their hosts' goal in the second spell. As dress rehearsals for the FIFA Confederations Cup Finals go, this display won't give the host nation, Mexico or Portugal - New Zealand's group rivals in Russia - any cause for concern. Indeed, what it revealed was the quality of depth in the Belarus squad, given this wasn't their first-choice line-up. That team is currently struggling in a World Cup group which boasts, among others, France, Holland and Sweden. Yet their second-stringers were far superior footballing-wise to the champions of Oceania on this occasion. Little wonder European football folk have always been swift to vote against automatic qualification to the World Cup Finals for the foremost nation in the South Pacific confederation, when their own comparatively small fish are, on the basis of the evidence presented in this match, far more deserving of same. Belarus:     Klimovich; Politsevich, Paliakov (Pavlavets, 85), Sachiko (booked, 88); Burko (Alyseika, 71), Bykov, Korzun, Masyeuski (Biarotkin, 80), Rios (Matveichyk, 70); Gordeichuk (Savitski, 62), Slavish (Laptsev, 61) All Whites:     Marinovic; Tzimpoulos (Tuiloma, 51), Durante, Boxall; Colvey (Ingham, 78), Thomas (Patterson, 51), McGlinchey, Rojas, Wynne; Wood, Smeltz (Barbarouses, 63) Referee:     Mikhail Vilkov (Russia)