Soccer: Nelsen holds his nerve to guide team

The All Whites' skipper salutes the 35,000 sell-out crowd after last night's win. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Some said his form wasn't the best. But Ryan Nelsen was instrumental in the All Whites overcoming Bahrain to qualify for the World Cup last night.

Rory Fallon got the goal and Mark Paston saved the penalty but Nelsen's performance at the back was pivotal to New Zealand's success.

The All Whites always looked likeliest to score from set pieces, where Nelsen consistently posed a threat, along with Fallon, Chris Killen and Ben Sigmund.

Bahrain looked most dangerous on the counter-attack, getting forward with the kind of pace the All Whites invariably lacked. That was where Nelsen was key. His timing, positioning and composure helped ensure the clean sheet New Zealand needed.

At halftime, 1-0 up, Nelsen says he stressed the need to stay calm.

"I was just keeping everybody's emotions in check. Your emotions can sometimes make you make bad decisions. I was trying to say we need to keep calm, stay relaxed and see the game out."

There was a moment late in the first half that encapsulated what Nelsen meant to the team.

He shepherded a Bahraini attack out to the corner, seeing off one opponent, then another until the ball rolled harmlessly over the byline. It wasn't flashy but it was effective and gave a glimpse of why he plays at the level he does. He did that all night to break Bahraini hearts.

There was a difficult 57th-minute clearing header out from under his crossbar that he made look easy; a Bahraini pass he took on his chest before playing the ball out from the back.

When Bahrain were awarded a 51st-minute penalty, Nelsen was unworried.

"That's life, you've got to get on with it," he said.

When the All Whites practised this week for a possible penalty shootout, Nelsen was down to go fifth.

"I couldn't see any of the goal, he filled up the whole thing. He [goalkeeper Mark Paston] pulled off a world-class save [against Bahrain]. "I said to him before the playoff that to go through, we would need a world-class keeper making world-class saves."

Nelsen doesn't expect Blackburn coach Sam Allardyce to be thrilled by last night's result.

"I can hear him grumbling from here, the big man."

Nelsen and his Blackburn teammates have struggled against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks. He was unable to stop United striker Dimitar Berbatov turning and volleying past him for a goal two weeks ago.

He has had more of those moments than he would have liked this season.

But what those who worried about Nelsen's form failed to appreciate is the vast difference between facing some of the world's best clubs and playing Bahrain.

Jaycee John may be handy by Asian standards but he's no Dimitar Berbatov, not even a work-shy, uninterested Berbatov.

It's not just Nelsen's own performance. He lifts those around him. New Zealand played with a composure Bahrain were unable to muster.

It's not bad luck when a team misses as many chances as Bahrain did over two legs; it's a lack of composure.

This was no streaky victory. The All Whites won because they were the team which stayed most composed when the pressure was at its most intense.

Football fans have waited a long, long time for this. Nelsen and his cohorts have finally brought the glory days back to Kiwi football.