Bahrain 0 All Whites 0
The All Whites will go into the return leg of their World Cup soccer playoff against Bahrain in Wellington next month believing their best is yet to come.
The two sides finished the opening leg in Manama today locked 0-0, leaving the tie finely balanced.
In hot conditions and in front of their home fans, Bahrain forced New Zealand to soak up plenty of pressure.
That the All Whites were able to come away with a clean sheet was a big source of encouragement for captain Ryan Nelsen.
"That's why I'm really excited about the Wellington match," the central defender said.
"That was the best they threw at us. I know we've got a lot more to come."
The Blackburn skipper was aware that there would be plenty of pitfalls to be negotiated on November 14.
He said Bahrain had been favourites to win the opening leg and also to go on to take the tie itself.
They had gone in hardened by 18 previous qualifying matches, while the All Whites had had six, one of which was a dead rubber when coach Ricki Herbert didn't field his top line-up.
Bahrain has also followed up a goalless draw at home with a 2-2 away result that got them past Saudi Arabia in their previous round.
Nelsen said today's scoreline had served to increase the All Whites' chances of making the World Cup.
"We had two legs, now we've got one leg to do it," he said.
"Of course, they did it against Saudi Arabia, but would we take this position? Of course we would."
Nelsen described the conditions for the match, with the heat and the associated dehydration, as "horrendous" and he praised his team-mates for their application.
"We're all not used to conditions like this," he said.
"We just had to knuckle down and get the job done."
- NZPA
