New Zealand 1-0 Bahrain
New Zealand have reached the World Cup finals for the second time in their history with victory over Bahrain in their qualifying play-off second leg.
Striker Rory Fallon scored the decisive goal at the Westpac Stadium in the final minute of the first half with a header from Leo Bertos’s corner.
Goalkeeper Mark Paston also saved a 51st minute penalty from Bahrain’s Sayed Adnan to help qualify.
The trip to the stadium with the lads was a fun event. The crowd, as requested, mostly turned out in white. I have to say it worked well, and did not become the pantomime I had feared. The crowd was noisy, and kept it up all of the game.
There were supporters for Bahrain, close to where we were sitting. They were a tight knit group of a few hundred, with musical accompaniment. They keep their noise going continuously, until their mental health was blown apart by the missed penalty.
We sat behind the goal, so had an ideal view of the goal as the ball rippled the net, and again later on when the ball went over the line only for the ref tom deny the oppo as he had already blown for a foul.
How NZ won the game I am still not sure. In the second half they were under constant pressure, and were unable to control the ball. Bahrain looked better on the ball, but did not make the most of their possession, and certainly lost the physical contest. However, the won the acting contest easily.
The tension was huge watching on. It was just like watching England; always awaiting the mishap, and feeling that the goal that would bring the dream to an end was imminent. But they won. The response was fantastic, as so many cared. The World Cup Finals are looking good. I can happily cover my bases by shouting “come on you whites”.
