OlyWhites v Rumania, 28/07/21

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OlyWhites Advance To Maiden Quarter-Final

by Jeremy Ruane

New Zealand's OlyWhites reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic Men's Football Tournament for the first time ever at the Sapporo Dome on July 28, holding Rumania to a scoreless draw to finish as group runners-up.

With all four teams starting the day on the same points tally - three, all were in with a chance to advance from the outset. But Korea Republic quickly took charge of their game against Honduras in Yokohama, meaning that the OlyWhites, with their superior goal difference compared to the Rumanians, would earn a place in the last eight with a scoreless draw.

To that end, Danny Hay's charges played a great game, enjoying the lion's share of possession, much to the chagrin of their European opponents, who couldn't score the goal they needed to advance as a result.

Indeed, it was the OlyWhites who went close to breaking the deadlock just ninety seconds into the contest, Nando Pijnaker heading Joe Bell's corner narrowly past the far post after having created the opening by releasing the speedy Joey Champness down the left - he was a real handful for the Rumanian rearguard throughout the first half.

The impression given early doors was that the Rumanians had come to play-act, rather than play, because every time they were challenged by a black-clad opponent, down they went, writhing in agony, Eduard Florescu in particular doing his best to earn a Hollywood movie role with his theatrics.

Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega swiftly grew wise to their nonsense, however, and the players of both teams danced to his tune, particularly in the second half, during which the official's whistle became increasingly prominent as frustrations grew, particularly among those clad in white.

Occasionally, Rumania would tire of the Thespian arts and focus on what they were on the pitch to do, and on those occasions, they would cause the Kiwis problems, such as in the eleventh minute, when Andrei Sintean slipped the ball inside to Florescu, who weaved past two opponents before unleashing a low drive which Michael Woud turned round the post.

Back came the OlyWhites, Champness pouncing on a Ricardo Grigore error on the quarter-hour before wrong-footing the defender and looking to pick out Chris Wood with a low cross. Virgil Ghita stepped in to avert the danger on this occasion.

Wood, in truth, was superbly policed throughout by Grigore, who was arguably the Rumanians' best player, so well did he fulfil his marking job. But Grigore couldn't get anywhere near Wood come the half-hour mark, when the Kiwi captain lined up a thirty-three yard free-kick which Rumanian goalkeeper Marian Aioani was forced to turn round the post.

Florescu responded with a wayward long-range, to which the superbly performed Bell replied via a 37th minute corner to the far post, where Wood rose above allcomers to direct a downward header goalwards which Aioani did superbly well to save with his legs.

The ball rebounded to Wood, whose ambitious overhead kick landed on top of the crossbar. Seconds later, Bell regained possession and sent Champness scurrying down the left once more.

He evaded a challenge before seeing successive shots blocked by Ghita then Andrei Chindris. The rebound off the latter earned the OlyWhites a corner, which Bell delivered into the danger zone,

forcing Aioani to punch clear off Wood's head.

Just before half-time, the Rumanians twice came close to breaking the deadlock. Alexandru Dobre took on allcomers with a driving run before setting up Marco Dulca, whose shot was deflected to safety. Soon after, Sintean just failed to get on the end of a teasing cross from Florin Stefan, joining the attack from fullback.

The OlyWhites made a couple of changes at half-time, one for disciplinary reasons - fullback Callan Elliot's first half booking - and the other tactical, Callum McCowatt's skills in possession being better suited to the task now required of the team than Champness' pace.

It was that prowess in possession which was very much in evidence during the first third of the half, but the Rumanians eventually enjoyed the chance to create an opening, and very nearly scored from it, Woud blocking Marin's header with his legs on the line, after the midfielder had been picked out by Florescu's corner to the far post.

Marko Stamenic responded soon after with a fiercely struck twenty-five yarder which narrowly missed the target while two Rumanians were writhing in "agony" after enduring Kiwi challenges. Needless to say, they very swiftly got to their feet before Aioani took the resulting goal-kick …

Twenty minutes from time, Grigore's timely intervention denied Wood in the area after Woud had gone downtown to pick out his namesake. New Zealand's goalkeeper was called upon again sixty seconds later to tip Andrei Ratiu's fine header over the bar following a hanging cross beyond the far post delivered by Marin.

Back came the OlyWhites, McCowatt and Cacace combining down the left, with the latter's cross being pawed out by Aioani. Wood was quick to pounce, but his shot was blocked to safety by Grigore, while a McCowatt piledriver ricocheted to safety off the arm of Ghita ten minutes from time.

The Rumanians were now getting desperate, throwing on substitutes galore in a last-gasp effort to snatch victory, and indulging in even more theatrics, which prompted even more whistle-blowing from referee Ortega, who had to book one of the Rumanian coaching staff at one point, so irate was the individual concerned re the official's failure to award a free-kick for yet another perceived slight.

As in the dying stages of the first half, so, too, the second - Rumania pressing for a late goal with time all but up. Ratiu got the better of Cacace before delivering a cross which Woud grabbed at full stretch, while substitute George Ganea picked out fellow replacement Dragos Nedelcu with a cross … the less said about the shot, the better.

It summed up Rumania's night, however, and when the final whistle sounded soon afterwards to confirm the 0-0 outcome, the OlyWhites were celebrating making history - the first New Zealand football team to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic Men's Football Tournament, with host nation Japan their opponents at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium on Saturday, 9pm NZ time.

Rumania: Aioani; Chindris (booked, 28) (Nedelcu, 78), Ghita, Grigore, Stefan; Ratiu, Marin, Dobre (Gheorghe, 78), Florescu (Sefer, 87); Sintean (Ganea, 59), Dulca (booked, 30) (Ciobanu, 78)

OlyWhites: Woud; Elliot (booked, 42) (Ingham, 46), Stensness, Pijnaker, Cacace; Bell, Stamenic, (booked, 89), Garrett (booked, 19) (Lewis, 72); Just, Wood, Champness (McCowatt, 46)

Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)

OlyWhites