New Zealand registered their first win of the Intercontinental Cup football tournament after they defeated Chinese Taipei 1-0 here tonight, courtesy a penalty goal by Myer Bevan.
Bevan scored in the 36th minute when he coolly slotted the ball into the right corner of the net to give 1-0 lead to the All Whites, which eventually turned out to be the match-winner at the Mumbai Football Arena here.
The game was going on at a brisk pace and the two sides on an even keel before New Zealand earned a penalty in the 36th minute.
Cameron Howeson failed to make use of an opportunity when he had just the rival goalkeeper to beat. While another attempt was made, the loose ball fell to Sarpreet Singh, who was brought down by Tzu-Kuei Hung.
Prior to this match, New Zealand had suffered a 1-2 loss to Kenya.
It was a second straight loss for Chinese Taipei, who were spanked 0-5 by hosts India, and they are now out of the tournament.
In the first half, Chinese Taipei wasted several free-kicks and corners. In the 24the minute, Chinese Taipei wasted their free-kick after Donkin shot straight to the goal-keeper. They did create a few chances, but were unable to convert.
In the sixth minute, En-Le Chu tried to reach the Kiwi goal but the defenders managed to thwart the attempt. In the 11th minute, William Donkin passed it to Chu, who shot straight to the Kiwi custodian Nikola Tzanev.
In the 17th minute, Donkin showed some exquisite footwork to release Mao Li into the box, but the forward's run was not well-timed as the umpires signal off-side.
New Zealand created a chance in the 23rd minute with Myer Bevan managing to get his head to a teasing cross by Sarpreet Singh. But the header being not powerful, Chinese Taipei custodian Wen-Chien Pan collected it with ease. At the half-way stage, the Kiwis led 1-0.
After the break, in the 55th minute, a chance came for New Zealand to make it 2-0, but Sarpreet Singh took long to hit the shot and defenders had enough time to block it.
New Zealand play India, who are unbeaten in the tournament, on Thursday.
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