New Zealand’s All Whites have beaten Malaysia 4-0 with a dominant display in their friendly international at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium.
Watched by 8,513 spectators, New Zealand’s goals all came in the second half as a tiring Malaysia were worn down by the home side.
In the first half, most of the play was in the Malaysian half, with the All Whites switching play and attacking down the flanks.
But balls into the box weren’t converted into shots on target, other than a rasping effort from Ben Old that was palmed away by Malaysian ‘keeper Syihan Hazmi.
Despite being outclassed, Malaysia tried to play passing football and didn’t resort to time wasting or over physical play.
In the second half, that approach proved costly as New Zealand brought on substitutes, including star striker Chris Wood, and took advantage of their opponents’ fatigue.
Eli Just scored his second goal for the national team in this international window, when he scrambled a Liberato Cacace cross home in the 53rd minute.
Cacace again got the assist when his pass reached Matt Garbett on the hour mark, and the midfielder placed his shot inside the post.
Wood came off the bench soon after, to the delight of the crowd, and he quickly scored his 36th goal for the All Whites, neatly turning a header inside the Malaysian post.
Substitute Logan Rogerson finished the scoring in the 90th minute with a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
ResultGame played on Monday October 14, 2024
New Zealand 4 (Eli Just 53’, Matt Garbett 61’, Chris Wood 72’, Logan Rogerson 90’) Malaysia 0
This story was first published on October 14, 2024.
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