Thoughts on the All Whites vs South Korea
Honestly though, who thought we’d get beaten, like, 3-0? I’m not saying I don’t have faith in the direction that this team is travelling, but I was one of those people. We’re talking the second-best team in Asia against an understrength New Zealand side. Sure, Korea lost to the Aussies, but as much as we dream about getting one over the Wrong Side of the Tasman, they’re a long way beyond our measures these days.
No Winston Reid, no Tommy Smith, no Ryan Thomas, no Kosta Barbarouses, no Jeremy Brockie and no Half of the Phoenix squad. In their place a selection of youngsters. Anthony Hudson’s setting a clear plan of blooding new talent and expanding the depth pool of New Zealand international football, the balancing act is in getting the results to match the ambition. 23 year old Chris Wood was captain and easily the most capped player, while four debutants were named to start, and another two coming off the bench.
Probably the most surprising of them was Clayton Lewis taking up Ryan Thomas’ vacated spot. At only 18, Lewis should have been well out of his depth but he impressed the coach enough during the last week of training to walk out a starter. Had a solid game too. Ryan De Vries (of Auckland City Club World Cup fame) also starting as an attacking midfielder while Greek/Kiwi Themi Tzimopoulos made his home at the back with Michael Boxall and Stefan Marinovic debuting with the gloves. Ben van den Broek and Moses Dyer were the substitute debutants.
The biggest obstacle for kiwi teams ever since Simon Elliott retired has been what to do about the midfield. We produce enough battler defenders and big burly attackers to take care of that but there’s a reason All Whites sides have never been dominant in possession. Hudson kept the same formation he tried out against China and Thailand, a 4-2-3-1 set-up. Those last two games were scratchy but here things looked better. Two holders in midfield, they give the opportunity to our quick young players to run around and look sharp behind the meat and veg of Chris Wood. Bill Tuiloma, who’s debuted for French challengers Marseille since last donning the white jersey, looks every bit of the future of this team for the next decade and a half, though Mike McGlinchey is perhaps better suited further forward.
That was the first thing that really bit about the lineup: seeing Boxall at CB and Wee Mac in the middle, both big adjustments to the roles they’ve been playing for the Welly Nix. But on the other hand, who else was there? Especially without the Sigmund/Durante pairing, the lads keeping Boxall out to the right in Wellington. It’s tough to find a midfielder to compliment Tuiloma, you want a guy who can pass with precision and control a game but there aren’t too many countries in the world with a player of that calibre. Wee Mac is clearly the best we have, placeholder or not (if we had a true CM, then Mac’d be playing top left presumably, as he does for the Nix. He’s a starter either way).
To the game itself, the South Korean crowd turned out in good numbers despite the pouring rain to bid farewell to Cha Du-ri, a proper legend of the game in those parts. A 76-capped hero, who had his fair share of tough times for the national side, missing selection for both the 2006 and 2014 World Cup sides, yet captaining them in between. The Asian Cup final was meant to be his final game but he was recalled from retirement for this send off.
The All Whites began brightly, winning an early corner thanks to Rojas’ pace. Marinovic came sprinting out to shut down a Korean attack emphatically, and Chris Wood was an immediate handful. Themi looks to be an absolutely brutish defender, strong and effective, though a handball gave Korea their first half-opportunity. For the most part, however, it was a staggered start from both sides. Plenty of stoppages and few flowing passing moves from either side. New Zealand’s best chances, as would be the case all night, came from Wood’s supreme physical advantage and from some well-worked set pieces. The closest being a low, driven volley from Wood, peeling to the penalty spot to fire directly on the end of a corner kick. The keeper saved comfortably.
Korea worked their way into it. To a man they had the better first touch, the better movement off the ball and they could play at a faster pace. The kiwis tried to build things up but would be rushed into a mistake basically every time. But that’s the nature of playing a country that regularly competes at World Cups. They really shoulda scored when Ki Sung-yueng headed wide. If you recognise that name, it’s because he’s a regular for Swansea in the English Premier League.
The alternative to building from the back is to pump it long. Luckily the All Whites have a very handy outlet up top who provides that very option. It’s not just that Chris Wood looked a foot taller than every defender, but his first touch is much better than he gets credit for too. He can bring a ball down and lay it off like the best of them. Plus he likes himself a snap shot, and he let a couple fly early on (though to little avail). Tui leapt high for a header that he slipped wide as well. There were half chances floating by, and if one of them had been taken then who knows what might’ve been?
It felt like Deklan Wynne and Storm Roux got picked on as fullbacks. Most games you won’t see as much pressure as that but the Koreans play a very fluid style. They’ll happily send four guys wide to disrupt and we got caught in the grind down those flanks more than necessary. Long balls and big clearances will dodge that trouble, but they’ll also limit the chances for guys like Rojas, De Vries and Lewis, with the ball flying clear of their heads too often.
And then, just as it looked like a pleasantly scoreless half was winding down, Marinovic gave away a silly penalty. Too slow to react, then hesitant, he eventually committed to the tackle only to clean out the player. Ah, but instant redemption. Diving hard to his right, Mari got a powerful hand to the ball and parried it emphatically clear. An average penalty from Son Heung-min, still a great save.
“Unfortunately I put myself in the position when I gave away the penalty then I saved it so guess I kind of cancelled it out. I don’t like to see it as a big save I just think about it as me correcting my own mistake.” - Stefan Marinovic
Chris Wood thought he’d snagged a goal in injury time but it was called back very late for a foul. The right call too, Wood had obviously given his marker a shove in a three-way mix up that also included a charging keeper (the ball falling free to Wood, who slipped it home). But a veeeery late call all the same. You never really know with international refs, do you?
Cha Du-ri was subbed off right before the break, allowing for a lovely standing ovation. It was all well planned, he returned at half-time for a presentation to say some words of thanks and farewell to the faithful. New Zealand, surely pretty stoked with the HT scoreline, made a sub of their own, Tyler Boyd replacing De Vries, who had precious little to do in his first international.
The second half was more the hosts’ half. It was too easy for their nimble midfielders to ghost past our guys as they dived into tackles, a drop of the shoulder and into space they went. Korea preyed on our heavy touches, camped nicely in front of our defensive line, and although Bill Tuiloma especially would track back very deep to help out, once he got committed to a challenge they’d simply skip by.
Side bar: Guts to Joel Stevens, who only lasted a few minutes as a sub before falling hard on his shoulder and having to be replaced. By coincidence, it was Louis Fenton, he of multiple shoulder dislocations, who replaced him (and replaced him on the wing – another Nix player in a different role than usual).
Korea later had their own goal disallowed for a handball. When they found the room to attack us at pace, it felt incisive. Yet time after time we found a way to hang on, be it through poor finishing or good keeping from Marinovic. Poor finishing was what let them down in the World Cup, that and an awful first half in the game against Algeria. It took a keeping error to score against Russia, and the two they got against Algeria came when they were already 3-0 down (it ended 4-2). They were blanked by Belgium and went home with only a single point.
There was a serious chance that with both teams having worked so hard for little reward to that point, the final 20 minutes might taper off into a quiet draw. We would’ve taken that for sure, but with five minutes to play, Wee Mac got caught on the ball and three Koreans flooded into the penalty area. Mari made a fine first save but the ball fell to Lee Jae-sung who could hardly miss. A brutal goal to concede so close to a wonderful result. Still, you have to credit the Korean’s heavy pressing and rapid transition into attack there. It was a deserved goal.
We were always a chance to steal a sloppy one of our own. Van den Broek curled a gorgeous cross into danger late on, but the attackers in place had all strayed offside. A tired finish to a game in which they worked very hard for a close loss.
It’s hard not to reflect on the draw that slipped away in these circumstances. Nonetheless, the performance was miles better than against Thailand. Hudson still without a win as All Whites coach but more than ever before we saw glimpses of the payoff that’s hopefully coming.
“I’m disappointed with the result but I just thought it was quite outstanding really, the performance, and to go toe-to-toe with such an experienced and top class team with a real young squad… we’ve gained a lot from tonight and taken another big step towards what we’re trying to achieve.”
“I thought we showed an incredible team ethic. Every single player that came on the pitch absolutely fought and gave everything. We’re trying to build a real team ethic and team ethos here and everything we’re asking for from the players we saw tonight.” - Anthony Hudson
Marco Rojas needs to be involved as much as possible. When he gets the ball at his feet, the skill and control that he has is a step above anyone else in the squad, including Reid, Smith and co. He’s finally in a club situation where he’s playing fairly regularly, but the thing with a player like Rojas is that you can’t just expect them to assert themselves, you also need to go about bringing them into play. And when he and the wingers run off of Woody, that’s money right there.
A couple of young players are still eligible to go join up with the Under-20s for their next match, while plenty of them should be available for the U20 World Cup in a couple months. Hudson offered his support to that cause and the more recognition and high-level exposure our young guys get before that the better.
Oh, and one last thing to finish… anyone else getting sick of the charade of Dewhurst and Ngata/De Jong (the former in this case) pretending that Sky TV have actually stumped up the cash to fly them to the game to commentate? Like, it’s blatantly obvious that you’re calling it from a TV screen in a studio somewhere in Auckland. As Kendrick’s momma said: ‘You ain’t gotta lie’. Plus Dewhurst’s thing of saying umm or ahh every three words like it’s the icing on top of his ‘insight’ and also his wild leaps to conclusions. Such as immediately and crushingly criticising the penalty decision before backtracking after seeing one replay. Cool the jets there, son. Jumping to conclusions like Homer Simpson jumped the Springfield Gorge.
All Whites Team: Stefan Marinovic; Storm Roux, Michael Boxall, Themi Tzimopoulos, Deklan Wynne; Bill Tuiloma (Ben van den Broek 80’), Michael McGlinchey, Ryan De Vries (Tyler Boyd 46’), Marco Rojas (Moses Dyer 79’), Clayton Lewis (Joel Stevens 52’ – Louis Fenton 58’); Chris Wood.
Half Time: 0-0
Full Time: 0-1