NZ v Gambia
This is the game to see if the boys are champs or chumps.
Yes the way that they (Gambia) all flow forward on attack in that true African style means our lads will have to be on their toes and more. Good concentration on defence and no Brockie shots skyed over the cross bar will be good. When we get a ggod chance to score at this level our strikers simply have to make it count!
To any one watching the game on TV - has Draper impressed since he came on? It seems the possession has turned markedly since the substitution.
63' SCHAEFFERS (in) comes off the bench to replace PETERS (out) (New Zealand)
He wasn't even pasrt of the qualifying squad or involved last year (from memory). Called up late to the surprise of many but he's showing he deserved it. I think he's pretty young as well.
Boxall was solid.
Cmon Kiwis, whack the ball into the back of the old onion sack for God's sake!!!!
Disappointing performance to be honest. We were tactically naive, very slow on the counter attack and very poor in our decision making i.e. going for the long ball all the time when the Gambians had it all over us in the air and were stronger. the defence played ok but the midfield were not up to it especially in decision making and skill level.
I think our overall fitness was not up to it i.e. for big players our strength on the ball is poor, players were getting pushed off all the time and no real speed anywhere on the park.
The good thing will be that the players and the coaching staff now know what they need to do to step up an perform at this level.
Draper looked good when he came on and obviously Spoonly is the standout in the team. I think we have a lot to work on before the team can become competitive at this level but the more experience they get the better I think.
Teza2007-07-06 11:20:59
Unlucky today, played better than we did against Portugal for sure.
Spoonley was solid in goal once again and Draper played well, but i don't feel anyone really stood out for us this time i feel it was more of an improved overall effort from the lads.
Good to see we had more possession in the end and created some fine chances. I'd like to see Draper start ahead of Brockie against Mexico i think he fully deserves it.
In the end, another good learning experience for the lads.
Brockie came so close to scoring from a cross from Henderson (I think it was Henderson) but the keeper was too close to him - Brockie can't be blamed for that miss.
I was getting quite frustrated with the Gambian players getting injured left, right, and centre to waste time, but lots of teams do that, and if NZ were winning they would probably time waste too.
Draper was impressive, but I thought Brockie was ok. I can understand the criticism but he looked comfortable playing at this level (excpet for the glaring fact he can't score goals)