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New Zealand held an unrelenting but distinctly unlucky Bahrain to a goalless draw in the first-leg of the 2010 World Cup Asia/Oceania play-off in Riffa on Saturday, writes VIJAY MRUTHYUNJAYA.
Bahrain missed at least four clear chances of scoring while the Kiwis defended stoutly and emerged unscathed with their goalkeeper Mark Paston the hero of the evening.
Bahrain enjoyed better ball possession and dictated the pace of the match but could not find the target to give meaning to their overall domination.
The second-leg is scheduled for November 14 in Wellington with the winner booking a berth for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.
New Zealand last competed in the finals way back in 1982 with their present coach Ricki Herbert a member of that team while Bahrain are yet to play in the soccer showpiece event.
Bahrain, watched by a noisy and enthusiastic crowd including Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee chief Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, came agonisingly close to reaching the contest's concluding stages four years ago but lost to Trinidad and Tobago in a play-off at the same venue.
Nigerian-born Jaycee John made the first realistic attempt at goal for Bahrain in the 20th minute from about 15 metres outside the penalty area but his shot lacked direction.
Four minutes later Hussain Ali made good use of a through pass in the penalty area and though he beat defender Ben Sigmund by going around him, the delay in taking a shot at goal cost him dearly.
Australian 'A' League top scorer Shane Smeltz and Celtic's Chris Killen spearheaded most of the All Whites' moves with captain Ryan Nelsen overlapping the midfielders and supplying most of the passes.
But time and again the duo found the Bahrain defenders - Man-of-the-Match Sayed Mohammed Adnan and Hussain Baba in particular - hard to beat.
The unfamiliar and unforgiving hot and humid weather conditions, with the apparent temperature hovering close to 40 degree Celsius, also took an early toll on the visitors, who though taller and stronger than their Bahraini rivals clearly struggled to keep pace.
Bahrain came close to scoring twice within the first two minutes of the second-half. First, striker Salman Isa shot into the hands of Kiwi goalkeeper Paston after receiving a fine headed pass into the penalty area from captain Mohammed Salmeen and a minute later Mohammed Hubail shot over the bar after a series of quick-fire passes.
Another chance came and went in the 63rd minute when Fouzi Aaish charged into the penalty area from the left and did well to beat Killen but his shot was brilliantly saved by Paston.
Bahrain continued to persevere in front of a packed house of more than 30,000 fans and pinned the Kiwis to their own half. They came by yet another chance when they earned a free kick on the edge of the penalty box after Aaish was brought down by Ben Sigmund. But Adnan wasted the golden opportunity as his shot sailed wide off the far post.
Two minutes later the packed house was stunned into silence when Kiwi substitute Chris Wood scored after a swift counter-attack but he was clearly off-side much to the relief of the home team and fans.
Bahrain should have sealed the match in the 75th minute when Salmeen again split the Kiwi defence with a well-measured through pass into the penalty area to Isa. The prolific striker controlled the ball well and even beat the Kiwi goalkeeper but only to see his poor shot hit the near post much to the grief of unmarked compatriot John who was right in front of the open goal and in a better position to score.
Asian super powers Japan, Australia and South Korea along with North Korea have already booked a berth in the World Cup Finals while Bahrain is bidding for a possible fifth spot.
