The Hyundai A-League had three clubs represented in New Zealand’s side that was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Myanmar on Monday.
Sydney FC ‘s Shane Smeltz, Melbourne Victory ‘s Kosta Barbarouses and Wellington Phoenix pair Michael McGlinchey and Thomas Doyle were all named in the All Whites starting side for the international friendly in Yangon.
A penalty from the Sky Blues’ striker gave New Zealand the lead just before half-time but the home side rebounded in the second period and pulled themselves level through Thiha Zaw’s deflected effort just after the hour mark.
Anthony Hudson’s All Whites were good value for their first-half lead, dominating possession and creating several chances in the opening 20 minutes.
New Zealand took the lead two minutes before the break when former Johnny Warren Medal winner Marco Rojas collected possession on the edge of the area, weaved his way through a clutch of Myanmar players and, just as he looked to shoot, was felled by a lunging defender, the referee having no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Smeltz stepped forward and confidently slotted his 24th international goal but the hosts rallied, Zaw’s shot cannoning off New Zealand captain Winston Reid and into the back of Stefan Marinovic’s net in the 66th minute.
“We certainly weren’t at the level we intended to play at,” New Zealand coach Hudson said.
“We did have possession in the first half and we had decent spells and created a few chances but I just felt we lacked throughout the game a little bit of urgency.
“Overall we paid the price for not finishing one or two of the chances we created in the first half.”
Looking ahead, Hudson says the group will learn from their experience on Monday as he continues to build his campaign towards next year’s Oceania FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“It is quite strange to say this but we’ve had such a good week so there is certainly a lot of positives, certainly up until the end of the game.”
Match Details
Myanmar 1 (Zaw 66′)
New Zealand 1 (Smeltz 43′)
