Keep up with the action as the All Whites take on El Salvador in an international friendly in Houston.
Full-time El Salvador 2 New Zealand 2
The match ends as a draw which is probably a fair result
for both sides. Neither team looked to push really hard to take the
game in the dying stages. Ricki Herbert will be pleased with the
way his young side fought back after falling behind in each half. A
memorable debut for Ian Hogg who scored his first goal. They will
now look ahead to their next match against Honduras on Sunday.
88min
New Zealand try to press for a late winner, but can't
really create much.
79min
El Salvador pile on the pressure and Paston has to come
out to punch away a corner. New Zealand look to be struggling
again.
77min
Howieson whips a good ball into the box for Chris Wood.
however Wood can't control it and pushes his attempted header
wide.
72min
Jeremy Brockie and Cameron Howieson enter the game from
the substitutes bench
67min
Ben Sigmund overruns El Salvadoran striker Marc Blanco to
give them a half chance. Blanco's shot is well wide however.
63min El Salvador 2 New Zealand 2
Just as it looked as though New Zealand were being played
out of the match Kosta Barbarouses equalises. Smeltz shot was
blocked by the keeper, but Barbarouses was there to fire in the
rebound. Herbert makes his first change after the goal with Smeltz
replaced by Chris Wood.
60min
El Salvador make a few substitutions, Ricki Herbert is
yet to go to his bench.
55min El Salvador 2 New Zealand 1
New Zealand concede an own goal. Burgos' cross is
deflected into the net by Michael Boxall and the New Zealand
defender is gutted.
50min
New Zealand successfully defend a corner, it looked
dangerous briefly but they managed to scramble well to avert the
threat.
47min
Rojas hits the post. He'd beaten the final defender with
some nice footwork. He put his shot past the keeper, but just
couldn't beat the post and another chance goes begging
Half-time El Salvador 1 New Zealand 1
It's all even after a very entertaining half of football. Both
sides have looked to attack and have been rewarded with a goal
each. New Zealand may be a little disappointed to have missed out
on a couple of good chances, but more goals seem inevitable.
39min
Barbarouses in the box again, but again can't find his
man with the cross and the ball is headed away.
38min
A long range effort from El Salvador just flies over the
bar.
36min
Barbarouses does exceptionally well to beat two defenders
and get into the box, however he can't find his two men on the far
post with a poor delivery that was easily dealt with by the
keeper.
34min
Mark Paston has to make a save as Nelson Bonilla gets a
shot off. The New Zealand stopper does well to chest the ball away
over the cross bar.
29min
New Zealand starting to look dangerous now as Barbarouses
puts a lovely ball through to Smeltz, but the keeper is able to
deal with it.
28min El Salvador 1 New Zealand 1
Ian Hogg scores on debut! With his first attacking touch
in the national side. It was a lovely run down the left hand side
and a superb finish across the face of the goal to level the
scores.
22min
The All Whites force another corner and Bertos' delivery
is good, however it's easily dealt with by the El Salvadoran
defence.
18min
Ben Sigmund gets a yellow card for a dangerous tackle,
cutting down his man from behind. El Salvador can't get past the
wall with their free kick.
13min El Salvador 1 New Zealand 0
El Salvador get the first strike of the game against the run of
play. New Zealand goalkeeper Mark Paston misjudged a through ball,
coming out to try and shut it down, but Rafael Burgos gets there
first and chips it over his head into the net.
8min
A fantastic opportunity for the All Whites has been squandered,
Vicelich put Michael McGlinchey through on goal with a fantastic
through ball, but his shot went directly at the El Salvadoran
keeper.
6min
The All Whites had an early opportunity with a free kick taken by
Leo Bertos, but MarcoRojas' shot flew high over the bar.
Pre-match
The All Whites are giving a nod to the future today as they look to field a young squad to take on El Salvador in the build up to their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Young defender Tommy Smith has been handed the captain's arm-band for the first time in the absence of the injured Ryan Nelsen.
El Salvador will pose a tough challenge for the New Zealanders, they are currently ranked 49th in the world way ahead of the All Whites who have slid to 130 since their World Cup appearance in 2010.
They will also have plenty of support at the new stadium in Houston Texas.
New Zealand (probable): Mark Paston, Ben Sigmund, Michael Boxall, Tommy Smith, Ivan Vicelich, Leo Bertos, Michael McGlinchey, Ian Hogg, Marco Rojas, Shane Smeltz, Kosta Barbarouses. Substitutes: Glen Moss, Jake Gleeson, Jeremy Brockie, Adam McGeorge, Aaron Clapham, Cameron Howieson, Tim Payne, Chris Wood.
El Salvador (from): Dagoberto Portillo, Benji Villalobos, Alfredo Pacheco, Xavier Garcia, Victor Turcios, Carlos Monteagudo, Steve Purdy, Alexander Mendoza, Milton Molina, Dennis Alas (captain), Ramon Sanchez, Eliseo Quintanilla, Osael Romero, Jaime Alas, Edwin Sanchez, Elder Figueroa, Arturo Alvarez, Darwin Ceren, Isidro Gutierrez, Ricardo Ulloa, Lester Blanco, Rafael Burgos, Maikon Orellana, Nelson Bonilla.