Soccer: Fightback too late

Luke Adams. Photo / Richard Robinson.

A fightback from the New Zealand under-17 men's soccer team was not enough to avoid defeat against the academy of Real Salt Lake in their final World Cup warmup match in Arizona yesterday.

New Zealand lost to the Major League Soccer club's under-18 outfit 3-2 but fought back from 3-0 down with goals from substitutes Ken Yamamoto and James Debenham. The Kiwis opening Cup match is against Uzbekistan in Torreon, Mexico.