The All Whites were very good last night.
Apart from the opening 15 minutes, when they looked all at sea and conceded that goal that is. After that though, though they didn't dominate possession, I thought they dominated large portions of the match - save for a few Chinese raids. They also managed to shrug off the immense pressure when we had the ball that the opposition exerted in the opening stages. And that allowed our best player on the night to start to shine - Michael McGlinchey.
I thought McGlinchey was class last night, and well deserved the equalizer. He managed to get good time on the ball and played the right kind of passes almost every time. He is a quality player and will be a huge asset to the national team for years to come. Man of the match in my opinion.
As for the players, well starting from the back Glen Moss did a good job in goal for us. Everyone knows he is a class shot stopper and he showed that last night. He doesn't hold many shots on the first occasion, and sometimes his clearances are a bit dodgy, but he certainly did a more than decent job between the sticks.
The defence was solid last night. Tommy Smith and Ivan Vicelich were fair enough - the Chinese attacks did seem to come down our left hand side and Vicelich was a little slow at times (understandable given his age), but they were solid enough. Andy Boyens, who only played the first half, probably wasn't as solid as the other two, and did score that own goal, but he did ok. The real surprise was when Michael Boxall came on for the second half - he looked mighty impressive in his first appearance for the national team. Cool, calm and very assured on the ball, he looked comfortable at the international level. A great find. Considering the options we have at the back, we are starting to get real depth at centre back. Smith, Reid and Boxall are all very young and there is still life in Nelsen and Sigmund yet.
The two wide midfield players/wing backs were fair - after the initial onslaught Jeremy Brockie and Tony Lochhead got forward on numerous occasions and offered width to our attack. Their crossing wasn't great, and Brockie himself should have scored with the final touch of the first half, but they offered enough. Marco Rojas made his much awaited debut, but wasn't really on the pitch long enough to show us what he is capable of. Another debutant, Michael Fitzgerald, looked very lively down the right hand side. More cameos like that and he could be yet another very good addition to the squad.
I've already said Michael McGlinchey was my man of the match. He is becoming a very good player very quickly. What was suprising was how useful his partner in midfield - David Mulligan was. I shouldn't say suprising. We all know he's a much better player than what we saw (or didn't see) when he was at Wellington Phoenix. While he was overrun a little in the first half, he had plenty of time on the ball in the second, and passed the ball well enough. He was our defensive midfield presence and he wasn't particularly convincing doing that, but on the ball looked good enough to be a decent option for Ricki going forward.
Going forward has quickly become our strong point and this showed again last night. Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz worked tirelessly - Killen especially without much reward. In the second half, a previously invisible Smeltz moved out onto the left hand side and steadily became an influence on the match. Chris Wood played the first half and had a go of it - two half chances and plenty of running around. But his replacement helped change the game - Kosta Barbarouses showed how he has improved immensely during his first year in Brisbane. There are still signs he has a wee while to go yet, but in general he was very good last night.
If I had to give the players a rating out of 10 for the game last night against China:
Starting XI:
Glen Moss - 7
Andy Boyens - 5
Ivan Vicelich - 6
Tommy Smith - 6
Jeremy Brockie - 6
Tony Lochhead - 6 1/2
Michael McGlinchey 8 1/2
David Mulligan - 6 1/2
Shane Smeltz - 6 1/2
Chris Wood - 6
Chris Killen - 6
Substitutes:
Michael Boxall - 7 1/2
Kosta Barbarouses - 7
Marco Rojas - 5 1/2
Michael Fitzgerald - 6
Aaron Clapham - N/A
All in all, a very positive experience for New Zealand football. A good result, three debutants (including an excellent one by Boxall), a first goal for New Zealand for Michael McGlinchey, and what's more, a good, attacking performance (save the first 15 minutes) where we soaked up the pressure, defended when we needed to, and attacked relatively often and with good penetration.
It would have been nice to have another match in this tour, but obviously the circumstances in Japan have meant that isn't possible. However, the next time the All Whites do play, Ricki Herbert will have a great range of players to choose from, of all ages and stages of their careers, as he looks to build a squad to take us to Brazil 2014.
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