FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Max Mata equaliser secures draw for New Zealand against Turkey in Group B

Mumbai: New Zealand and Turkey played a 1-1 draw in a Group B clash of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday. Ahmed Kutucu’s 18th-minute strike put Turkey ahead in the 18th minute. Max Mata came up with the equaliser in the 58th minute. [caption id=“attachment_4117499” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] New Zealand’s Max Mata controls the ball closely followed by Turkey’s Emirhan Civelek during their FIFA U-17 World Cup match in Mumbai. AP[/caption] Turkey looked the better side at the beginning. They could have opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute, but Melih Gokcimen failed to beat the goalkeeper on a breakaway and Atalay Babacan mis-fired on the rebound. Kutucu headed home a corner to give Turkey the lead and they controlled the game for the rest of the first half as New Zealand took some time to raise their game. They found the equalised when Elijah Just took a quick free-kick and it found an unmarked Mata, who put the ball in in the 58th minute. Both teams ot plenty of chances to gain the lead. New Zealand almost found their second when Charles Spragg shot just over the crossbar with 15 minutes to go. Then frustration grew further in New Zealand camp when Just hit the post in the 83rd minute. Mata then got his second yellow card five minutes into second-half stoppage time. After this incident, New Zealand defended strongly to keep it at 1-1.