The All Whites finished 2021 with a win in Dubai this morning against The Gambia to make it three from three since returning from their Covid enforced international hiatus in October. 

The Scorpions were defeated 2-0 with Chris Wood getting both, moving the Burnley striker to 2 goals away from matching all-time men’s top scorer Vaughan Coveny on 29. 

The win marked the first time the team had won three games in a row against non OFC opposition since 1985 as the momentum from the Olympic campaign continued to build. 

Danny Hay’s team saw major changes from the weekend’s warm-up game against Algeria A. Only Nando Pijnaker and Marko Stamenic were retained as Stefan Marinovic, Liberato Cacace, Niko Kirwan, Joe Bell, Sarpreet Singh, Joe Champness, Elijah Just, Chris Wood and most surprisingly captain Winston Reid came in. Reid wasn’t originally named in the squad for the games but travelled to train and mentor the team. Hay was so impressed by Reid’s condition he felt he was ready to return to action. 
 

After dominating the opening quarter of the game, the All Whites took the lead in the 36th minute. A Sarpreet Singh corner was cleared to Joe Bell on the edge of the box. Bell’s shot deflected to Chris Wood who manged to backheel it into the net from close range. 

The West African side improved after the break but struggled to get beyond a solid Kiwi defence. 

The killer blow came in the 64th minute as Chris Wood got his second. A pinpoint pass from Sarpreet Singh cut through the Gambia defence finding Wood one on one with the keeper. Wood expertly rounded Baboucarr Gaye to put the ball in the Gambia net. 

Wood had a chance to complete his hattrick in the 87th minute. His low shot from just outside the box beat the keeper but rebounded off the woodwork. 

Following the match Head Coach Danny Hay spoke to media about the game and the three back-to-back wins:

“Obviously really happy with the results over the last couple of windows. You add to that what the vast majority of these players did at the Olympics and it’s been a pretty good year after such a long hiatus due to Covid.

“We’re excited with the progress we’ve made and are looking forward to what next year brings for us.”

Starting line-up:

Stefan Marinovic 
Winston Reid (58’ Michael Boxall)
Nando Pijnaker
Liberato Cacace (90+4’ Francis de Vries) 
Niko Kirwan (82’ Kelvin Kalua)
Joe Bell (90’ Callum McCowatt)
Sarpreet Singh 
Marko Stamenic 
Joe Champness (70’ Tommy Smith)
Elijah Just (70’ Matthew Garbett)
Chris Wood

Article added: Wednesday 17 November 2021