Hay can see encouraging signs
There was a chance it could have all gone pear-shaped for the All Whites against the Republic of Ireland, as Danny Hay handed first caps to three youngsters, one of whom has never played professionally, and encouraged his team to play a positive brand of football.
But while they did lose 3-1 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin yesterday, they were by no means dominated, and there were plenty of encouraging signs for the new coach and Kiwi fans.
‘‘People can have their own opinions, but there were elements there that I’ve never seen from an All Whites side, ever,’’ Hay said afterwards, referring to their short-passing approach when on attack.
‘‘We’ve talked about being brave and wanting to do things differently – well, there you go. That’s the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle.’’
It was one of the three debutants who put the All Whites ahead half an hour in – Callum McCowatt getting on the end of a cross from Wellington Phoenix teammate Liberato Cacace to finish off an incisive passing move.
But both could have done better in the leadup to Ireland’s equaliser just before halftime – one of two soft goals Hay was upset about afterwards.
‘‘The goal just before halftime is a killer,’’ he said, referring to Derrick Williams’ header from a corner, where he towered over Cacace in the middle of the box.
‘‘There were elements there that I’ve never seen from an All Whites side.’’ Danny Hay
All Whites coach
‘‘All the footage we had of Ireland, all the analysis and all the clips we’ve worked through, is them delivering goals from wide areas and that they’re dangerous from set pieces, so that’s disappointing we conceded two goals essentially from that.’’
Hay had a different gripe about Ireland’s second goal, which gave them the lead, believing McCowatt had been fouled on the edge of the All Whites’ area in the buildup: ‘‘That’s a deadset foul. The referee’s made a few dubious calls in my opinion, he was very much favouring the home team, but I’m not worried about that.’’
The next piece of the jigsaw puzzle will come against Lithuania on Monday (NZ time). Hay is set to field an entirely different starting XI to the one he used in Dublin, but will want to see the same positive intent in possession.
‘‘The first and third goals [from Ireland] are easy fixes – direct from a corner, a young player getting outmuscled, outjumped, and then allowing someone to get across the front of us from a ball that’s been whipped in.
‘‘The difficult stuff is the interchange, the ability to be brave in possession, to build up from deep. I thought for two days training, the boys were incredibly good, and just imagine what we can do when we spend some time together.’’
Hay said Winston Reid, Ryan Thomas and Chris Wood wouldn’t be travelling with the rest of the All Whites to Lithuania and will return to their clubs.
‘‘This is about ensuring that every player on this trip gets a good opportunity and can walk away knowing that 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 play.
‘‘While it’s going to be tough losing, I guess you could argue our three best