Football: Positives for All Whites in defeat

Michael McGlinchey (left) and Dane Ingham (right) struggled to contain Japan early in their friendly but improved through the middle half of the match. Photo / Photosport.nz

The raw result was a disappointment but the bigger picture means All Whites coach Anthony Hudson leaves Japan a content man.

A willing New Zealand side conceded goals at either end of the second half against a superior Japan to lose their friendly 2-1 in Nagoya early yesterday.

Hudson was disappointed not to at least eke out a draw against their 40th-ranked opponents after striker Chris Wood bagged an equaliser in the 58th minute.

However, he revealed the mindset of the players was to treat the match as if it was the away game of a two-legged fixture, as theyll face in next months World Cup intercontinental playoff against South American opposition.

My initial feeling is one of huge disappointment because we did so well, showed so much character, showed a lot of fight to get back into the game at a very difficult place, Hudson said.

Yet with the disappointment, Im also incredibly proud of the players because we said at the beginning this is a two-legged affair, home and away, and were still very much in the tie.

Hudson was gutted when Shu Kurata grabbed the winner two minutes from time with a close-range header.

However, he was more concerned about how easily his team were overrun in the opening quarter. They were fortunate not to fall behind several times against the faster speed and thought of the hosts.

Anthony Hudson was proud of his players. Photo / Photosport.nz

We can prepare and we can talk all we want, but then the whistle blows and youre playing a very good team like Japan and they start quick and they attack you. We need to learn how to manage those periods better.

Certainly I think after 20 minutes, we then started to relax and started to do what we set out to do at the beginning.

Caught out by Japanese long balls, they abandoned the high pressing methods usually espoused by Hudson. They recovered some poise and finally created chances through the middle period but retaining possession remained an ongoing problem.

The All Whites opponents for the November playoff will be found on Wednesday (NZT), in the final round of the South American qualifying process.

Up to five teams are in contention, including three top-10 ranked nations - Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

- NZN