Soccer: Fallon gambles on Knowles

By Terry Maddaford

Kevin Fallon is gambling on powers of recovery in naming North Harbour defender Cameron Knowles in his New Zealand squad for the world under-17 soccer championship.

Knowles broke a bone in his leg in a recent training game against the Kingz but Fallon, taking advice from medical experts, is confident he will be ready for Wednesday's tournament opener against the United States at North Harbour Stadium.

"We didn't take him down to Dunedin and Invercargill for the games against Paraguay, but he has been swimming and cycling," Fallon said. "We are being guided by the doctors and hope he will be okay. He will stay in Auckland to see a specialist when we go to Taupo for the game against Thailand."

The Junior All Whites round off their match preparation with the game against Thailand in Taupo at 5.30 pm today. They return to Auckland tomorrow. Like other teams in group A, Uruguay, Poland and the United States, the Kiwis will have one training session at the match venue before the tournament kicks off.

"There is an element of risk in including Cameron Knowles," Fallon admitted. "But we are critically short of defenders."

The 0-2 loss to Paraguay on Tuesday night had highlighted the difference between the two teams.

"We reached a certain level on Saturday when we drew 2-2. Seventy-two hours later we could not reach that same level.

"It is like a small club lifting their game for a cup tie but then getting beaten back at their own level the next week.

"Paraguay produced four chances and scored twice. We had three good opportunities and couldn't take one.

"But to be fair to our players, they conceded two goals in a four-minute spell in the first 15 minutes of the game and then showed a fair degree of resolution in battling away."

Fallon said the hectic schedule - the team travelled back from Invercargill yesterday, had a few hours at home and will be on the road this morning to Taupo - was not easy but something he and his players must accept.

"All that travelling and just 48 hours between playing Paraguay and the Asian champions is not easy," he said, "but all part of it."

Of the players who have been part of the build-up, 16-year-olds John Ferguson and Naveen Prasad missed the final cut.

New Zealand squad: Sacha Nathu (Wellington), Julius Kolk (Nelson), Sanjay Singh (Taranaki), David Rayner (Bay of Plenty), Tony Lochhead (Bay of Plenty), Cameron Knowles (North Harbour), David Mulligan (England), Jeremy Christie (Northland), James Pritchett (Auckland), Allan Pearce (Mana), Brent Fisher (Canterbury), Steven Turner (Auckland), Daniel Trent (Counties Manukau), Neil Jones (North Harbour), Ricky Hill (Auckland), Karl Budgen (Waikato), Sebastian Perez (Auckland), Gary Bridle (Hawkes Bay).