The Oly Whites have gone down 2-4 to UAE this morning in their final warm up before the London Olympics.
New Zealand were under the pump early, conceding two early goals midway through the first half.
However they clawed their way back thanks to Shane Smeltz and Marco Rojas to draw level 2-2 with UAE early in the second half.
Smeltz’s goal came from a Ryan Nelsen corner and finished with precision from the head. Then seven minutes after halftime Rojas hit a swerving right foot shot to beat the keeper.
Despite drawing level the Kiwis couldn’t contain the opposition in the second half eventually going down 2-4. Now coach Neil Emblen says the focus moves to London.
"We have six days before the opening game so we'll have five full days of preparation and will really be able to get into preparing for specific scenarios which we haven't really had time to do yet,” Emblen says.
"We were lacklustre today to be fair and weren't at the races for periods of the match. We were not brave enough in possession and gave them too much respect off the ball,” he says.
New Zealand's open their Olympic campaign against Belarus a day before the opening ceremony.
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