China v Oly Whites

it was a great first time shot by brockie, nelsen i thought played excellent at the back but i have my doubts about elliot. not the best ive seen him play

Even Joseph Romanos called NZ's Olympic "soccer" performances "wonderful." 

 

http://www.radiosport.co.nz/AudioBank/WeekOnDemand/ (10.30-45am)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoc1CNEjDQ

craiga2008-08-08 11:05:58

http://www.fifa.com/mensolympic/matches/round=250016/match=300051800/photolist.html#842024

All things considered, this is a brilliant result. Hope we can put up a good fight against Brazil now.

How did Leilei get there so quick? Shame on Ryan for picking on him Royal2008-08-08 13:31:47

your an idiot pal - oldy has put everything into this team...he has been eying this tournie up since he was captain back in 2002 against japan.
Was rough luck which no one could do anything about - so go point your finger somewhere else

I cant locate who sl*gged off Oldy - but if someone did they are in the minority so dont get worked up about it

http://www.3news.co.nz/LastminutegoalrobsOlyWhitesofvictoryoverhosts/tabid/317/articleID/66141/cat/277/Default.aspx#video

What a strike by Brockie.  Simply gorgeous.  He had a great game.  Nelsen played phenomenally well, Elliot was class, Killen did next to nothing.

Steven Old should not have been sent off.  That was as pathetic a call as when Boxall was called for a handball when the ball smacked him in the nose.

Are you sure Spoonley's six foot?  He looked like a high school kid (he did well mind, just commenting on his height).

So disappointed they managed to score and grab the draw.  It's imperative we win the next game.  If Belgium only lost 1-0 to Brazil with 9 men they must be quite strong.  Do we face Brazil next or Belgium?

We've got Brazil next. That is damage control, then we go after Belgium. would be good to see china and belgium draw, bc that would mean a win for us v belgium would prob see us through.

I've gone through all permutations doesn't really matter what happens in Belgium-China match we still have to beat Belgium to go through now. Unless pigs fly and we beat Brazil.

bloody south american ref! i think he was uruguayan(spelling?)

Having watched it live on CCTV with replays I have to say I disagree that the Red was not justified. It was a poor tackle and then a clear hand ball.

The ref did make some other bad calls, one hand ball call just outside our box was clearly wrong as it hit the players head (Boxall was it?).

The Chinese CCTV commentators were somewhat in awe of Ryan Nelson and were keen to talk about him as he was the only player of ours they knew anything about. The Chinese captain was very disappointed after the match but I think they had underestimated us.

Great goal by Brockie, I presume scouts were watching.

I thought Nelson was a different class from anything on the park.... both Hogg and Scott played well and Peverley dominated midfield when he was on

have to agree with SC03 - first challenge was a definite yellow card (although he had to fly in like that as we were in the sh*t) and the second was a mad rush of blood to the head.  Those of you who are blaming the ref have your heads up your ass.

I am here in China watching the Oly-Whites games. NZ vs China was absolutely awesome - INTENSE!!!!! I was sweating so much I can't quite tell if I peed my pants when we scored or not!!!! 

The whole team should be extremely proud of the result - a country of 4 million played with 10 men against a country of 1.5 billion with a full squad and whatsmore, held them off until almost the end of the match!!

a great night for NZ football (you put it into perspective brilliaintly), and, i imagine, a memorable one for your family

and to that ... Marius Lacatus2008-08-08 20:15:15

What a laugh football supporters are (self included). Some of the comments on here I would swear I was watching a completely different game. Then someone inflames things it all gets a bit over the top and HN wants to shut it all down lol

And another thing - what a great opprtunity having Killen, Elliot and Nelson involved. I bet the other players are learning heaps from them.

Good post, let's focus on the positives, thats as good a result as we've come up with for a long, long time.

That was not a deliberate handball, he didn't intentionally move his hand/arm into the ball at all.  And someone mentioned he shouldn't have his arms up there, if he wants to he can play the whole 90 minutes with his arms above his head, there's no problem with that.  I mean, it may get a bit tiring, and I wouldn't do it myself, but you can hardly use where his hands were before the ball was kicked as justification for the sending off.
loyalgunner2008-08-08 23:59:25

I was told by a very reliable authority that referees have to take into account the position of hands/arms when considering handball calls. If the position of the hands/arms is unnatural (i.e. above the player's head), then a foul/handball should be given. Don't know if it qualifies for a yellow card though.

Interesting point.  I still maintain that if we so desire we should be allowed to play with our arms above our heads. loyalgunner2008-08-09 00:07:48

That certainly seems to be the approach for a lot of the crosses/shots into arms that you see given, if they are held high then they are more likely to be given.

Player ratings from the game

Facepalm.

It was Spoonley, you know, used to play for the club this a supporters group of...

Sorry pal his name just escaped me for a second! he made some well good saves first half.