Skipper pleased with early progress
Young players impressed against Ireland but must learn from mistakes, says Reid
Captain Winston Reid was heartened by the All Whites’ performance against Ireland but realises it is a small step towards becoming a successful side.
Despite losing 3-1 in Dublin on Friday, New Zealand impressed with their intent and energy, taking the game to their hosts in the first half before falling away in the second.
“There were some things we did well and also some things not so good,” Reid told the Herald on Sunday.
“Obviously far more positives than negatives, but definitely stuff we need to learn from, take into account and improve for the future. It was nice to be back out there as a team. It’s been such a long time since we’ve been together, but with circumstances taken into account, the boys did well.”
The most disappointing aspect was Ireland’s equaliser, conceded from a corner just before halftime.
“We just have to make sure we learn from it.”
While the All Whites tried to play out from the back, they were also guilty of overplaying at times and being sloppy in possession.
“There was a lot of stuff we did really well, given we’d only been together three or four days,” said Reid.
“Now we just have to improve so when you do make mistakes, you can recover, especially when you have a young team.
“Those kind of mistakes get punished but I was impressed by the young players, they did really well.”
After not playing a competitive match for West Ham since March last year, there were some nerves about Reid’s participation but he came through the first half well.
“I felt really good. There wasn’t too many issues, I felt fine. It was always the plan to come off after 45 minutes. That way, I got an opportunity to come back and play for New Zealand, which was really good, and also got some game time, to get back into it.”
West Ham have earned just one point from their last five Premier League games but Reid knows it’s not realistic to be catapulted straight back into first team football.
“They understand where I’ve been for 17 or 18 months,” said Reid. “It’s been a long, long time and I don’t think my 45 minutes is going to put me in the frame for first team next week, but they were just happy for me to get back out there.
“It’s going to take time to get back to where I was before my injury and I understand that. I just need to get back into training [and] work my way back into form.”
Given Reid was out so long, some at West Ham initially weren’t thrilled about his trip to Dublin.
“For me personally, not just physically but also for my head as well, it was the right thing to do,” said Reid. “I spoke to the club about it, got my point of view across and fortunately they were really understanding about it and happy.”
Reid is now back in London after he, Chris Wood and Ryan Thomas were permitted to return to their clubs, missing New Zealand’s friendly against Lithuania early tomorrow.
All Whites coach Danny Hay is set to field an entirely different starting 11 from the match against Ireland.
“It’s about ensuring every player on this trip gets a good opportunity and can walk away knowing we’ve had a good look at their character, their mentality, how invested they are in the direction we’re taking the team, and their ability to play the way I want them to,” said Hay.
“While it’s going to be tough losing [arguably] our three best players, it gives an opportunity to other players. There will come a time when we need to win games, but now’s not that time, this is about developing a team and our style of play.”
Lithuania have drawn two and lost 13 of their last 15 matches, including 6-0 in Portugal on Friday, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick. Lithuania haven’t won since beating Armenia 1-0 in March last year.