Christie gets All Whites chance on centre stage

By FRED WOODCOCK - The Dominion Post
Last updated 07:25 04/06/2010

In just three weeks, Jeremy Christie has gone from being the All Whites squad bolter to a realistic chance of starting the first World Cup match against Slovakia on June 15.

That is the logical conclusion after coach Ricki Herbert named the former Wellington Phoenix midfielder to start his second straight match, the penultimate warmup international against world No25 Slovenia in Maribor, Slovenia, tomorrow morning (NZ time).

Stuff.co.nz will have full match coverage tomorrow morning.

Michael McGlinchey initially had the inside running on the midfield spot vacated by the injured Tim Brown, but Herbert liked what he saw of Christie in the win against Serbia on Sunday and has kept the status quo in the middle.

With just one more warmup match – a game against Chile in South Africa, which Herbert has already said will be nothing more than a glorified training run using players who have not featured thus far – a good performance against Slovenia could cement Christie a starting spot alongside Simon Elliott.

"Simon Elliott and Jeremy haven't played together apart from that last game so it's important again to give them more time," Herbert added.

Brown, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, is unlikely to play against Slovakia even if he completes a remarkable recovery and is able to join the World Cup squad.

The only change to the XI that beat Serbia is the return of Chris Killen up front, who replaces Chris Wood.

Killen, who missed the Serbia match for his wedding, has a tight calf and trained lightly yesterday but is expected to be fit.

"We've had two very competitive games on tour and now it's about protection. The last thing I want is injuries so we'll be very careful with this group. I'm not interested in the result."

Herbert has kept the same back three, with youngsters Winston Reid and Tommy Smith slotting in either side of Ryan Nelsen. Injuries aside, that looks increasingly like being the preferred defensive line against Slovakia.

"We've gone for with a bit of stability for this match.

"At the back I think it was important to play Winston Reid and Tommy Smith but there's massive competition there from Ivan Vicelich and Ben Sigmund and those two will get time either in this match or against Chile."

Reid and Smith have impressed Herbert but goalkeeper Mark Paston, who has recorded three clean sheets in his last four internationals, said the key to the miserly defence had been defending from the front.
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"As a team we work hard – it's not just about the back five," Paston said.

"We've proven really hard to break down as a unit. That's the whole 11 players and that will be important for us at World Cup time, not to concede goals.

"Right up to Rory [Fallon] and Shane [Smeltz], they work hard and it all starts from up there. They make our jobs a lot easier if they do their jobs."

Slovenia were in the same European qualifying group as Slovakia, whom they beat away during group play before finishing second. They beat Euro 2008 finalists Russia in a playoff to qualify.

"It's another big test, another big European team," Paston said. "There are no easy games over here, they've all got good players in their teams."

Tony Lochhead, a natural left back who plays more of a left midfielder's role in Herbert's 3-4-3 system, said the Slovenia match was a chance to build on what they achieved against Serbia.

"Obviously to beat a team inside the top 20 is pretty big for New Zealand but we don't want to get carried away with it," he said. "At the end of the day it doesn't really mean anything. It's the World Cup that counts."

Paston said last week the time at altitude in Austria would be invaluable for getting to know the World Cup match ball, the Jabulani, and he felt he was slowly adapting. The ball is lighter than what he is used to in the A-League and tends to dip and swerve more unpredictably, especially at altitude.

Several high-profile goalkeepers have been scathing in their criticism of the Jabulani but Paston is not one to fuss.

"It's obviously not ideal but they're not going to change it, so we've just got to get out there and do the job."

Meanwhile, Paraguay, New Zealand's opponents in their second group match in South Africa, struck form with a 2-0 win against Greece in Switzerland yesterday.Serbia's patchy buildup continued with a 0-0 draw against Poland, just days after losing 1-0 to the All Whites.

HOW THEY LINE UP

All Whites (3-4-3): Mark Paston, Winston Reid, Ryan Nelsen, Tommy Smith, Leo Bertos, Simon Elliott, Jeremy Christie, Tony Lochhead, Shane Smeltz, Rory Fallon, Chris Killen.

Slovenia (from): Samir Handanovic, Jasmin Handanovic, Aleksander Seliga, Bojan Jokic, Marko Suler, Bostjan Cesar, Branko Ilic, Matej Mavric-Rozic, Elvedin Dzinic, Miso Brecko, Suad Filekovic, Andraz Kirm, Andrej Komac, Rene Krhin, Dalibor Stevanovic, Robert Koren, Aleksander Radosavljevic, Valter Birsa, Milivoje Novakovic, Zlatko Dedic, Zlatan Ljubijankic, Nejc Pecnik, Tim Matavz.

Kickoff: 6.45am tomorrow
TV: Sky Sport 3
TAB odds: Slovenia $1.40, All Whites $8, draw $4

-with NZPA


http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/football/3775013/Christie-gets-All-Whites-chance-on-centre-stage