Fallon to release the All Whites pressure
‘‘I bring the fun,’’ said recalled striker Rory Fallon when describing what his role in the All Whites camp in Wellington this week.
With the pressure of a spot at the World Cup on the line across two games against Peru, starting at Westpac Stadium on Saturday, Fallon said it was important to have squad members with an ability to lighten the mood, as they did in 2009 when beating Bahrain to make the 2010 World Cup.
‘‘I think, especially for the 2009 time, that was the main ingredient for that success, we were constantly laughing all the time.
‘‘I think because of the way we do things in training with the gaffer [coach Anthony Hudson], it’s a lot to take in with the tactics of what he wants. So you need that release sometimes.
‘‘When you’re pulling out the old stories, the old horror stories from past tournaments and past games and travelling experiences that we’ve had with New Zealand Football and a lot of things that have happened over the years, it just softens the mood.’’
Fallon will live on forever in Kiwi football folklore for his headed goal in the second leg against Bahrain in Wellington which sent New Zealand to the World Cup. It was the only goal in a 1-0 aggregate victory. But he knows, at 35, his chances are slim of having a massive influence on the field this time around.
‘‘When you’ve got a 23-man squad not everybody is going to be playing, that’s the reality of being in a team, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know it’s more than just me and my selfish ambition.
‘‘Obviously everyone wants to play. The realism is I might not be playing, but whether I am on the bench, I’m always going to be behind the lads and wanting them to do well, because if the 11 do well on that pitch then we’re all going to the World Cup.’’
The path to making this All Whites squad was not an easy one for Fallon given Hudson’s insistence on his players having regular game time in the leadup.
He joined Torquay United in the fifth-tier of English football in July, but two months and three different managers later he was out the door. That led to going two more steps down the English football pyramid to Dorchester Town, but even with a few games under his belt, getting selected in the squad for the first time since the Oceania Nations Cup in June
2016 was never a certainty.
‘‘It was very last minute because of what happened to me in the last month has been mad. At one stage I was thinking ‘I don’t think I’m going to make it’, but I just kept training and kept persevering and kept believing something might happen.’’
It was easy to see why Hudson wanted Fallon in the squad on Tuesday when the latter addressed the media.
As he spoke about his belief they could beat Peru, it was said with such conviction that it was hard not to take him seriously.
He said he gathered such belief after watching New Zealand lose 2-1 to Mexico at the Confederations Cup in June after leading
1-0 in the first half.
‘‘That Mexico first half was one of the best halves I have seen New Zealand play, against one of the best teams in the world, we just didn’t get the result.
‘‘It’s coming and I feel this is the time to do it and this group has a great chance to do it against Peru. All we need is for us to have a good night and them to have a bad night to get something from that first game, because if we get something, whether it be a 0-0 or whatever, we can go to Peru and think, this is it.’’