Their participation in the Junior World Cup was in doubt until family and frends chipped in to cover their cost of participation.
And the New Zealand players justified their supporters faith by holding mighty India to a 2- 2 draw in Singapore to give themselves a bright chance of making the second round.
The draw gives New Zealand 4 points from two matches and if they can produce a similar result against Holland, then they can start looking forward to the second round.
AS for India, the draw will be looked as a point lost rather then a point gained as it will make their task all the more difficult.
The Child brothers, Simon and Marcus gave New Zealand a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
Simon, who made his international debut at the age of 16, scored the opening goal in the 3rd minute but Diwakar pulled India level.
Marcus restored the Kiwis lead three minutes before halftime only for Pramod Kumar to equalize one minute upon resumption after the halftime.
In the match played in Johor Baru, Argentina have almost one foot into the second round after defeating Belgium 3-0.
Argentina have six points from two matches and will play Pakistan next before wrapping up their fixtures against lowly Egypt. And all they need is another win to book a berth in the second round.
“We play Pakistan next and it is not going to be easy. They are a very skilful side and we have to catch them on the counter,” said Argentina coach Pablo Lombi.
“It was a difficult win against Belgium as they packed their defence and it is only because we made full use of our chances that we won.”
Argentina were awarded a penalty corner in the 13th minute but failed to capitalize.
Belgian keeper Jeremy Gucassoff was instrumental in keeping the Argentina strike force at bay as he pulled off several saves in quick succession.
In the 26th minute Gucassoff saved from Guido Martin Barreiros Lopez and in the very next minute was in his element to deny Agustin Mazzilli.
Agentina finally found the breakthrough they were looking for in the 45th minute when Augustin Mazilli scored.
In the 60th minute Argentina were awarded their second penalty corner and Alan Aldino squeezed in the rebound on his second attempt to put Argentina 2-0 ahead.
Aldino scored his second, Argentina’s third in the 69th minute to assure all three points for his team
Spain defeated England 2-1 and took a big step in their quest to make the second round of the Junior World Cup.
The Spanish had routed USA 9-0 yesterday but still had enough energy to dominate the match against the English who were really at sea.
Infact Spain could have sealed the match in the first half itself as they had numerous chances but only managed to score twice, through Salvador Piera in the 13th minute and Xavier Lleonart just before the halftime hooter.
England only managed to reduce the deficit in the last minute through Alex Edmonson.
Meanwhile in Singapore Japan stunned Australia by taking the lead in the 7th minute through Ken Asakura.
However the Aussies were just too strong and scored thrice before halftime through Timothy Bates (22nd minute), Triston White (25th minute) and Christopher Bouser.
The Aussies added three more in the second half to win 6-1 and continue the impressive march towards the second round.
And the New Zealand players justified their supporters faith by holding mighty India to a 2- 2 draw in Singapore to give themselves a bright chance of making the second round.
The draw gives New Zealand 4 points from two matches and if they can produce a similar result against Holland, then they can start looking forward to the second round.
AS for India, the draw will be looked as a point lost rather then a point gained as it will make their task all the more difficult.
The Child brothers, Simon and Marcus gave New Zealand a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
Simon, who made his international debut at the age of 16, scored the opening goal in the 3rd minute but Diwakar pulled India level.
Marcus restored the Kiwis lead three minutes before halftime only for Pramod Kumar to equalize one minute upon resumption after the halftime.
In the match played in Johor Baru, Argentina have almost one foot into the second round after defeating Belgium 3-0.
Argentina have six points from two matches and will play Pakistan next before wrapping up their fixtures against lowly Egypt. And all they need is another win to book a berth in the second round.
“We play Pakistan next and it is not going to be easy. They are a very skilful side and we have to catch them on the counter,” said Argentina coach Pablo Lombi.
“It was a difficult win against Belgium as they packed their defence and it is only because we made full use of our chances that we won.”
Argentina were awarded a penalty corner in the 13th minute but failed to capitalize.
Belgian keeper Jeremy Gucassoff was instrumental in keeping the Argentina strike force at bay as he pulled off several saves in quick succession.
In the 26th minute Gucassoff saved from Guido Martin Barreiros Lopez and in the very next minute was in his element to deny Agustin Mazzilli.
Agentina finally found the breakthrough they were looking for in the 45th minute when Augustin Mazilli scored.
In the 60th minute Argentina were awarded their second penalty corner and Alan Aldino squeezed in the rebound on his second attempt to put Argentina 2-0 ahead.
Aldino scored his second, Argentina’s third in the 69th minute to assure all three points for his team
Spain defeated England 2-1 and took a big step in their quest to make the second round of the Junior World Cup.
The Spanish had routed USA 9-0 yesterday but still had enough energy to dominate the match against the English who were really at sea.
Infact Spain could have sealed the match in the first half itself as they had numerous chances but only managed to score twice, through Salvador Piera in the 13th minute and Xavier Lleonart just before the halftime hooter.
England only managed to reduce the deficit in the last minute through Alex Edmonson.
Meanwhile in Singapore Japan stunned Australia by taking the lead in the 7th minute through Ken Asakura.
However the Aussies were just too strong and scored thrice before halftime through Timothy Bates (22nd minute), Triston White (25th minute) and Christopher Bouser.
The Aussies added three more in the second half to win 6-1 and continue the impressive march towards the second round.
