29 May 2010

Four changes to All Whites for Serbia friendly

7:01 am on 29 May 2010

The All Whites coach Ricki Herbert has made four changes for tomorrow morning's friendly with Serbia in Austria.

Winston Reid will make his first start against the world number 15 in Klagenfurt after the 21-year-old Reid only debuted against Australia on Monday.

Reid slots into a back three where he and 20-year-old Tommy Smith flank captain Ryan Nelsen in another change from the Socceroos clash.

Two other changes are forced on Herbert with teenage striker Chris Wood replacing Chris Killen, who has jetted back to the UK to get married, and Jeremy Christie coming in for injured vice-captain Tim Brown in midfield.

Michael McGlinchey was an option to replace Brown in the centre of the park but a tight hamstring means the diminutive midfielder will not be risked.

Whilst tackling a side boasting stars like Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Inter Milan's Dejan Stanković will be an invaluable acid test ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals, another match will also be enlightening for New Zealand.

Group F opponents Slovakia take on Cameroon as the first half of a double header at the same venue earlier that day with All Whites coaching staff keen observers.

New Zealand: 1-Mark Paston (GK), 3-Tony Lochhead, 4-Winston Reid, 6-Ryan Nelsen (Captain), 7 Simon Elliott, 9-Shane Smeltz, 11-Leo Bertos, 14-Rory Fallon, 19-Tommy Smith, 20-Chris Wood, 21-Jeremy Christie.

Substitutes: 2-Ben Sigmund, 5-Ivan Viceleich, 12-Glen Moss (Rgk), 13-Andy Barron, 15-Michael Mcglinchey, 16-Aaron Clapham, 17-David Mulligan, 18-Andrew Boyens, 22-Jeremy Brockie, 23-James Bannatyne, Cole Peverley