Michael Burgess covers off the three main talking points from the All Whites' 1-1 draw with Myanmar overnight.
Where have the goals gone?
The All Whites have now scored three goals in their last five matches. That's not good enough. Actually, nowhere near good enough. Sure, you wouldn't expect a hatful against either Uzbekistan or South Korea and China are decent (though not daunting) opposition.
But games against Thailand (0-2) and Monday's clash with Myanmar should be a chance to build combinations and confidence, as well as goal tallies. That's not happening. It isn't easy constantly playing away from home and using different personnel each time but that can't explain the 1-1 draw with the country formerly known as Burma. While New Zealand draws on professionals based in Europe, the United States and the A-League, all of Myanmar's squad play in their local domestic league. But that gulf wasn't obvious; the All Whites failed to put the Myanmar defence under sustained pressure and the home side looked more comfortable as the match went on.
Brockie's curse continues
Jeremy Brockie has now scored one goal in 47 international appearances, surely one of the worst ratios for an attacking player in New Zealand football history. Though he has played a range of positions, it's still difficult to explain, as he has been so prolific at club level but the step up doesn't seem to suit his game. On Monday he was unlucky with a full blooded half volley in the first half which beat the goal keeper before hitting a defender but an incident in the second half summed up his international 'curse'. After tangling with the goal keeper the ball fell to his feet two metres from goal, in front of an unguarded net, but the former Wellington Phoenix player seemed to lose his bearings and took an extra second to react, by which time the ball had been shepherded away by a defender.
Welcome back Marco
It was good to see a revitalised Marco Rojas on Monday. He looked a different player to what we have seen in recent All Whites' games. Rojas was busy and involved, especially in the first half, and showed the benefits of regular first team football at FC Thun. Rojas created the All Whites goal with a quick silver dribble and worked hard off the ball, though he didn't have the same impact in the second half.
