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091010
Late Penalty Miss Denies All Whites Victory
by Jeremy Ruane
New Zealand’s All Whites were denied a last-gasp victory over Honduras at North Harbour Stadium on October 9, having to settle for a 1-1 draw after Shane Smeltz missed a penalty at the end of a match the home team will feel they should have won.
The All Whites got off to a flying start, threatening the Honduras rearguard just twenty-five seconds into the contest. A probing ball forward by 2009 Oceania Player of the Year Ivan Vicelich picked out Chris Killen, whose progress was thwarted by Erick Norales.
His looping clearance was headed across by Chris Wood to Smeltz, only for the striker to have the ball plucked off his head by Honduras’ captain and goalkeeper, Noel Valladares.
Four minutes later, an even better chance materialised for the home team, who were urged on by a very vocal 18,153-strong crowd, eager to see their World Cup heroes back in action at New Zealand’s home of football.
Simon Elliott - the epitome of maximised efficiency while minimising fuss throughout - played the ball wide for Jeremy Brockie, who linked with the effervescent Chris Killen. He worked an opening with Smeltz, who evaded a challenge as he dashed into the penalty area before shooting across Valladares and just beyond the far post, with Wood sliding in in a vain attempt to steer the ball home.
Honduras responded straight away, Ivan Guerrero and the lively Walter Martinez linking to bring Mauricio Sabillon into play. He fed Georgie Welcome out wide, and the striker turned Vicelich superbly before shooting at Mark Paston, who smothered solidly.
He threw the ball out to Ryan Nelsen, who picked out Killen with a peach of a pass. The striker drew a defender before playing in Brockie, who squandered a good chance by firing across the goalmouth, well past the far post.
After Wood had headed tamely at Valladares in the thirteenth minute, Honduras were afforded a great chance to open the scoring when Tim Brown clipped the heels of the talented but temperamental Emil Martinez on the penalty arc, terminating the midfielder’s strong run.
Mario Martinez squandered the free-kick, but the Central Americans were guilty of missing an even better chance on the quarter hour. Emil Martinez won the ball on the left inside his own half and took out three All Whites with a gorgeous cross-field ball struck with the outside of his right foot.
Jorge Claros instantly released Walter Martinez, who struck Vicelich a painful blow with a shot into an area no man likes to get hit by a football!! Sabillon latched onto the rebound and whipped in a cross which Welcome headed across the face of goal, albeit from an offside position.
The All Whites came within inches of scoring the opening goal themselves five minutes later. Elliott played a super ball through for Leo Bertos to chase, and his efforts to do so forced a corner.
Elliott’s initial delivery was headed back to him, but his resulting cross was far better, picking out Brown on the far post. He headed the ball down and back for Killen, who controlled it and hit a wicked swerving twenty-yarder which grazed the side-netting, so close was it to the target.
Within seconds, New Zealand had another chance, with Brockie working a one-two with Wood on the right before crossing to the near post, where Brown flew in to direct a header over the bar.
After a lull following the fast-paced start, the All Whites picked up the pace again via Killen, who
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linked with Elliott to send Brockie down the right. His cross fizzed just beyond Wood, sliding in at the near post this time, whose failure to connect with the ball surprised Valladares. He spilled the ball, but was able to recover before anyone in white could react.
Only a vital tackle by Nelsen on the edge of the penalty area thwarted Walter Martinez as he looked to capitalise on an Emil Martinez-inspired raid, while a superb ball forward by Sergio Mendoza in the 38th minute rewarded the run of Walter Martinez through the middle.
Paston had to race out of his area to clear the danger, and his clearance prompted a stray header by Claros. Wood swooped on the sphere and swept past Norales before chipping a shot on the run over Valladares, but also over the crossbar.
The last act of the half saw the All Whites open the scoring. Brown played Brockie in on the right, and he got to the byline before clipping a cross to the far post, where Wood soared over all-comers to power home a header from six yards. Valladares got his hands to it, but hadn’t a prayer of preventing the scorer’s maiden international goal from crossing the line, and the "cheeky" celebration to mark the occasion.
It was the perfect fillip with which to conclude the first half, and the All Whites looked to build on it straight from the outset in the second spell. Bertos clipped a free-kick to the far post in the 47th minute which Nelsen headed down to Killen. His shot on the turn was parried onto the post by Valladares, and Nelsen was unable to capitalise on the rebound.
Two minutes later, another Bertos free-kick picked out Wood’s head, and the striker was only denied a second goal by a quite superb save from Valladares, who displayed great athleticism to tip the ball onto the bar and over as it sped towards the top left-hand corner of his net.
Seconds later, Elliott whipped in a cross from the resulting corner which picked out the head of Winston Reid. His header cannoned off Smeltz, and the defender looked to turn home the rebound. But his outstretched leg collided with that of Norales, leaving the All Whites defender rather the worse for wear - thankfully only temporarily.
Honduras responded to this early onslaught by creating a couple of chances of their own before the hour mark. A teasing cross-shot from the impressive Sabillon only just cleared Paston’s crossbar, before a superb move, inspired by half-time substitute Oscar Boniek Garcia, brought the best out of the All Whites custodian.
The newcomer’s deft back-heeled pass brought the overlapping Guerrero into play, and his whipped cross to the far post saw Welcome’s downward header brilliantly saved by Paston, who recovered swiftly to prevent Walter Martinez from capitalising on the rebound.
Two minutes later, another flying save from Paston prevented Walter Martinez scoring with a well-struck twenty-yard free-kick, awarded after yet another clumsy - and needless - foul by Brown.
The pressure was building, and in the 64th minute, it paid off. Honduras’ well-worked equaliser emanated from the combination play of Boniek Garcia and Guerrero again, with the player whose name recalls one of the all-time-greats of Polish football firing in a cross which Welcome and Vicelich contested in the penalty area.
The ball fell kindly for Mario Martinez, who spread play wide to Sabillon. The right-flank player delivered a gorgeous cross to the far post, and this time Paston could do nothing to prevent Walter Martinez from gracing the scoresheet - 1-1, thanks
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to a classic far post header.
Wood had two chances in as many minutes to restore New Zealand’s lead soon after, directing a powerful header at Valladares before lashing a low drive across the ‘keeper and inches past the far post after a Brockie throw-in wasn’t cleared in the 67th minute.
A Welcome - not so from the All Whites’ perspective - twenty-five yarder fizzed past Paston’s post five minutes later, to which Brown responded with his best contribution of the match, a stinging twenty yard volley which was pawed out by Valladares.
Honduras stepped up their play at this point, as substitutions began to take place at regular intervals. One delightful move numbering over twenty passes was a pleasure to savour for footballing afficionados, but there was little in the way of scoring opportunities until the 86th minute, when Paston was forced to punch clear a dangerous inswinging corner from Mario Martinez.
This prompted an All Whites onslaught in the final minutes, and a dramatic conclusion to the match. After Wood had been denied another goal by another brilliant Valladares save - his curling eighteen yarder came about after Elliott, Jeremy Christie and Smeltz had prised open Honduras’ rearguard, there was drama in the ninetieth minute, as the All Whites were awarded a penalty.
Referee Peter O’Leary - not his finest hour-and-a-half as he dished out yellow cards aplenty - pointed to the spot after spotting some Honduras infringements at a free-kick. The visitors swarmed all round the official, and there were a couple of instances where it appeared O’Leary was on the receiving end of some jostling as he attempted to maintain order, with the assistance of Vicelich.
The yellow card was brandished again, to two Hondurans, and few would have objected to seeing the red card wielded in the aftermath of the incident. There was gamesmanship aplenty as the visitors made their displeasure at the penalty known, but a penalty it was, and the chance to win the game for the All Whites rested on the shoulders of Smeltz.
He stepped up and smashed the ball at the target, hitting the underside of the crossbar. The ball bounced down and off the falling figure of Valladares back into the stride of Smeltz, who, from four yards, volleyed the rebound over the bar - a horror miss, which stunned the gathered throngs who were anticipating a match-winning goal.
There was stoppage time aplenty arising from this and other incidents in the second spell, and the All Whites continued to pursue victory in the time remaining. But the only chance of noted fell to Mario Martinez, who cut inside and, with the last kick of the game, brought a smothering save from Paston.
The final whistle sounded instantly, signalling another draw for the All Whites against fellow FIFA World Cup finalists, something they will hope to better against one of the quarter-finalists in South Africa, Paraguay, at Westpac Stadium on Tuesday evening.
All Whites: Paston; Reid (booked, 27), Nelsen (Sigmund, 82), Vicelich (booked, 85); Brockie (booked, 55) (McGlinchey, 74), Brown (Christie, 74 (booked, 82)), Elliott, Bertos (Clapham, 89); Wood (booked, 45), Killen, Smeltz
Honduras: Valladares; Mendoza (booked, 47), Norales, Guerrero; Sabillon (booked, 90), M. Martinez (booked, 90), Claros, E. Martinez (Palacios, 85), Delgado (Boniek Garcia, 46); Welcome, W. Martinez (Bengston, 82 (booked, 90))
Referee: Peter O’Leary
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