2006 World Cup Finals contenders Costa Rica proved far too good for a disappointingly performed All Whites combination on the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma astroturf in San Jose on March 25, NZ time, downing New Zealand 4-0 with two goals in each half. The locals were into the groove straight from the off against surprisingly timid opponents, New Zealand's reluctance to get in the faces of the Costa Ricans affording the host nation space aplenty in which to produce their party tricks, the first of which materialised in the third minute. Bryan Ruiz scythed inside Tim Brown and let fly, only to see Mark Paston turn his shot to safety. New Zealand's custodian was soon in action again, Ruiz's pursuit of a seemingly lost cause gaining due reward when he reined in Michael Rodriguez's over-hit pass just in time. A cheeky shot at Paston's near post startled the 'keeper, who blocked the effort. Paston was afforded no such luck in the seventh minute, as Costa Rica took full advantage of the gaping holes in the All Whites' new-look three-man defensive strategy to take the lead. Ruiz raided down the right, cut inside and slipped the ball through for Alonso Solis. The playmaker's clever dummy outfoxed a couple of defenders, and gave Alvaro Saborio the time and space necessary to dart in and lift the ball over the advancing Paston and into the net. The goalscorer squandered another opportunity soon afterwards, prior to Solis setting off on a mazy run through three challenges before his shot was parried by Paston, the 'keeper quickly recovering to foil Saborio as he looked to swoop on the rebound. Costa Rica doubled their advantage in the nineteenth minute. Che Bunce's wayward distribution was punished mercilessly by Rodriguez, who picked out Solis with a peach of a pass. The playmaker still had plenty to do, but Danny Hay afforded him the space in which to turn and accelerate goalwards. Steven Old came across to cover, but as he lunged, Solis let fly, arrowing his shot across Paston into the far corner of the net for a cracking goal. New Zealand hadn't even looked likely to this point, and should have found themselves three goals down on the half-hour mark. An air-shot by Paston - the ball bobbled on the astroturf at precisely the wrong moment - saw him slice his attempted clearance to Saborio. By the time the striker got the ball in control, Paston had recovered his position, and forced a shot into the side-netting from the front-runner, who had Solis inside him screaming for a pass to turn home into an empty net. The All Whites' lone chance of note in the half came seven minutes before the interval, but Jeremy Brockie's twenty-five yarder sailed well over the target, after Hay had turned defence into attack with a surge out of defence past three startled opponents. Two of the trio, Ruiz and Solis, soon combined to threaten once more, although the former's over-hit cross gave the latter little chance of beating Paston with a header. Ruiz then attempted to make amends with a rasping twenty-five yarder after cleverly evading Tim Brown's clutches. Paston grabbed this, then looked on as Michael Barrantes' long-range effort cleared the crossbar on the stroke of half-time. The second spell began with New Zealand attacking straight from the kick-off, only for Shane Smeltz to lose control just as he was about to pull the trigger. Costa Rica's response was to put the pressure right back on their opponents, who, substitute Chris James apart, flattered to deceive. In the 53rd minute, only a vital tackle by Bunce denied Ruiz after he had brilliantly evaded one challenge on receipt of a pass from Solis. Seconds

later, the same source of supply provided an opening for Saborio to exploit, but his lob of the advancing Paston was wayward. After Ruiz and Solis had combined once more in the 57th minute - Old blocked the latter's effort, the Costa Ricans were celebrating a third goal seconds later. Andres Nunez raced in off the right flank before whipping in a low cross to Saborio. Hay and Old combined to thwart him, but the danger was still there, in the form of a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area. Bunce lunged in to clear it, but Ruiz, caring little for the prospect of getting injured given the chance to score for his country, let fly with a bullet which zipped past the stunned figure of Paston and crashed into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Even though they were now 3-0 up, the Costa Ricans kept on coming, Ruiz in particular catching the eye. He lashed a twenty-yarder narrowly wide in the 62nd minute, before Bunce was caught in possession by the industrious figure of Roy Miller. Saborio was the beneficiary of his endeavours, but saw his shot blocked. Nunez headed the rebound wide. In the 69th minute, James, far and away the best player in the Youth All Whites squad, showed he wasn't out of his depth at full international level either with an adventurous piece of play contrived from nothing. Latching onto a loose ball on the left, he careered inside before letting fly with a vicious dipping twenty-five yard effort which cleared the crossbar by a yard at most. His enterprising efforts upon coming off the bench contrasted starkly with some of his colleagues, who struggled to make any impression throughout proceedings. Another substitute, Kris Bouckenooghe, was quick to follow James' lead, sending a dipping volley across the face of goal four minutes later after Ivan Vicelich and Leo Bertos had linked on the right. Normal service soon resumed at the other end of the park, as the Costa Ricans looked to finish with a flourish. In the 77th minute, Paston was right behind a thirty-yarder from Rodriguez, seconds after the hosts had been denied a goal from a corner. They didn't have long to wait to celebrate their fourth goal of the evening, however, although Hay could do little about Saborio's shot as it crashed into his arm from two yards away. What hurt was the fact that he was in the penalty area at the time … Saborio sent Paston the wrong way from the spot to make it 4-0 with ten minutes still to play. A lovely Costa Rican move five minutes from time deserved better fate. Nunez burst down the right and whipped in a low cross for substitute Rolando Fonseca, who contrived a slick one-two with Saborio before slipping his shot narrowly across the face of goal. Seconds later, Walter Centeno, another replacement, got in on the act, picking out Fonseca with his cross. His shot was blocked, but a further replacement, Windell Gabriels, latched onto the ricochet, only to direct his effort straight at Paston, who was to deny Nunez in the dying seconds of a match which the Costa Ricans could easily have won by more. 4-0 was the outcome, however, a result which gives the All Whites plenty on which to ponder prior to the second match of their Americas tour, in Maracaibo against Venezuela on Friday morning, 11am NZ time. Costa Rica:     Lewis; Cordero, Umana, Chinchilla; Nunez, Solis (Fonseca, 65), Rodriguez, Barrantes (Centeno, 59), Miller (Gonzalez, 72); Saborio (Gabriels, 85), Ruiz All Whites:     Paston; Bunce, Hay (booked, 75), Old (Bouckenooghe, 63); Hickey, Brown (booked, 83) (Christie, 85), Vicelich, Bertos, Lochhead; Smeltz, Brockie (James, 63) Referee:     Edgar Rodriguez