PREVIEW: Full-house looking for a win

Nov 12, 2009, 9:28 GMT

Wellington, New Zealand - Unlike the five other play-off matches scheduled for Saturday, the game between New Zealand and Bahrain in Wellington will be decisive.

A few weeks ago the All Whites managed a respectable goalless draw in Manama in the first leg, but even if they do have a slight advantage, New Zealand coach Rickie Herbert and captain Ryan Nelson take nothing for granted.

'We need to go into the game very much on the front foot and very positive. I don9t sense any tension external to that tension that needs to be there.

'There needs to be that passion adrenaline pumping through the veins otherwise we haven9t got the right people,' Herbert told a press conference ahead of the game, adding: 'But we have got the right people. We9ve got a strong group and I back them to do the job.'

Nelson, who plays his club football in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers, said that the team was looking forward to the game. 'Back when you were a kid kicking the ball around with your mates you dream about the sort of situation we have on Saturday night.'

'The nation9s behind the team. As a supporter of sport myself, we9re like that, people sense that we9ve got a fantastic chance.'

Herbert said that he hoped the capacity crowd will swing the tie his side's way. 'I've never seen 35,000 people in a stadium for a game. So I think it9s unique for the sport. It9s great.'

Standing in the way of their second appearance at the finals (the first one in 1982 saw them lose all three group games with the now-coach Herbert playing twice) is Bahrain.

The team from the Middle East has not yet made it to the showpiece of international football but think they are in with a good chance, even if the first leg ended in a goalless draw.

To qualify for the play-off against New Zealand, Bahrain had to play in a play-off against Saudi Arabia. The first leg in Manama ended in a goalless draw and in the return leg the Saudis took a 2-1 lead through Hamad Al Montashari a minute into second half injury time.

In a dramatic twist though, substitute Ismaeel Latif equalized matters two minutes later with virtually the last kick of the game to send Bahrain through.

In Wellington on Saturday, another scoring draw would be good enough to see them qualify for the finals in South Africa.

Bahrain's Czech coach Milan Macala has built his side around four foreign-born players, with Nigerians Jaycee John and Abdulla Baba Fatadi and Faouzi Aaish (Morocco) and Abdullah Omar (Chad) all playing in the 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia.

Come Saturday, they are hoping for a repeat performance.