Oly-Whites tumble out of Games

Reuters

DECIDER: Faris Haroun of Belgium, left, scores the only goal of their men's first round Group C football match against against New Zealand in Shanghai Stadium.

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A defensive error at a corner sent the under-manned Oly-Whites tumbling out of the Olympic Games men's football tournament in Shanghai early today.

But the courageous 10-man New Zealand team almost snatched an equaliser when Chris Killen's goalbound left-shot struck Belgian goalkeeper Logan Bailly's out-thrust foot and glanced away for a corner.

New Zealand needed to beat Belgium to advance to the second round but lost 0-1 to the Europeans who now qualify from group C with section winner Brazil which thrashed China 3-0.

The Oly-Whites return home with one draw and two defeats but were far from disgraced at their first Olympic tournament.

The only goal came in the 35th minute after Belgium won a right-wing corner. Oly-Whites goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley came confidently off his line for the cross but flapped at the ball.

Belgian midfielder Faris Haroun climbed high between the tallest Oly-Whites Killen and Michael Boxall, to powerfully head home.

Belgium was the better team - and hit the wodwork three times - but New Zealand toiled tirelessly despite playing almost the entire second half with 10 men.

Striker Daniel Ellensohn was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Belgium's Thomas Vermaelen in the 46th minute.

That made an uphill task even more precipitous for an Oly-Whites outfilt already without its best player, captain Ryan Nelsen (back in England with Blackburn Rovers) and its sole Olympics goalscorer Jeremy Brockie (suspended).

New Zealand's other over-age players, midfielder Simon Elliott and Glasgow Celtic striker Killen stepped up to lead in Nelsen's absence with Killen having his busiest game of the tournament. Steven Old returned from suspension to fill Nelsen's slot at the centre of a solid defence with teenage stopper Boxall.

But the Oly-Whites, as they did for most of the tournament, lacked a cutting edge on attack and were unable to seriously threaten the Belgian goal until Killen latched onto a Sam Messam pass in the 73rd minute.

Its best first-half chance fell to midfielder Cole Peverley, who was put into space after Killen nutmegged a defender. But Peverley pulled the ball across the face of goal and Ellensohn was unable to get on the end of it.

With the game still deadlocked, Belgian midfielder Jan Vertonghen hit the post with a scorching shot and Spoonley saved the rebound.

Spoonley spread himself wide for a fine one-on-one second half save against Belgian striker Kevin Mirallas and later dived spectacularly to push away a piledriver shot by Moussa Dembele and deny him again with his foot.

- © Fairfax NZ News