All Whites impress with their attack
OPINION: Four games into their European tour, the All Whites finally delivered a performance to be proud of.
At least, they did at the attacking end of the field, where they have shown a real sense of progression over the past few weeks.
Against Northern Ireland, they had three shots and didn’t hit the target. Against Belarus, they had three again but did find the target, once. Against Russia, in the tournament opener, they had 10, two of which were on target.
And in their 2-1 loss to Mexico yesterday, they had 10 again, but four on target. As always, the numbers don’t tell the whole story - the best chance aside from Chris Wood’s goal was Ryan Thomas’ shot that hit the bar, and was thus off target - but they are a good reflection of their increased attacking intent.
A big factor was Mexico’s approach, which was based around building from the back, and playing pass-and-move football. That meant they were there to be pressed, and that they were spread out, giving the All Whites space to attack into. Against Russia, they were under the pump from the off but that wasn’t the case here, with Mexico playing much less direct.
The All Whites took the initiative too. They looked to pass the ball on the ground more than they did against Russia, and they benefited. Thomas picked up where he left off in that match and always looked dangerous, while Clayton Lewis, starting in place of Kosta Barbarouses, shone as well, playing several nice through-balls, including the one that set up Wood’s goal. The Leeds United striker could have had a couple more had his touch not abandoned him and Marco Rojas was also involved a lot, albeit without any standout moments.
But, while the All Whites had plenty of chances, Mexico had more and, after stumbling towards the end of the first half, they seized the game by the collar to begin the second. By halftime, Mexico had five shots, one on target, and the All Whites had six, three on target. In the second spell, the Mexicans had 17 shots, nine on target, while the Kiwis had four and one.
Mexico deserved the win given the weight of chances they created, though you wouldn’t have called a draw or an All Whites upset unfair either.
This was the All Whites’ best attacking performance since the 1-0 loss to South Korea in March 2015, at the very least, and possibly their best to date under Hudson. From here on out, this needs to be the benchmark.
The other change made to the team that faced Russia was at right wingback, where Kip Colvey was replaced by Dane Ingham, the teenager from the Brisbane Roar who shifted his allegiance from Australia to New Zealand earlier this year.
Anthony Hudson has made no secret of how highly he rates the youngster - he watched him play half an hour for the Roar, and told the All Whites manager that he had to get him on board, is how the story goes - but you sometimes have to wonder what he’s seeing.
Ingham appears to have potential, especially as an attacker but he was not ready for this level defensively. He was a lamb thrown to wolves, and one wolf in particular - Javier Aquino - made a meal of him. It was an ugly sight, and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the kid, who only turned 18 earlier this month.
He was beaten and shaken with ease, allowing Mexican attackers to move the ball into dangerous areas, and it was no surprise that he was at fault at the start of the moves that led to Mexico’s goals.
He can’t possibly start against Portugal on Sunday, which leaves three options - a return to Colvey, who was bad against Russia, but not as bad; a switch to Storm Roux, who has barely played since the A-League season ended; or a switch to Michael Boxall, which would mean changing to a back four or bringing Themi Tzimopoulos into the back three. How Roux, an A-League regular with the Central Coast Mariners, doesn’t have this spot locked down is a mystery.
Whoever gets the nod will probably be seeing a lot of Cristiano Ronaldo, so they’d better be ready.