N.Zealand and Slovakia 0-0 at half-time

New Zealand made a positive start to their first World Cup campaign in 28 years, holding their own in a goalless first-half against Slovakia here on Tuesday.

With Slovakia struggling to get their passing game going in the cold, windy conditions, it was the All Whites who had the better of the chances and both Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz might have given them the lead.

But a shaky opening 45 minutes from goalkeeper Mark Paston offered encouragement to their opponents.

New Zealand were first to threaten with Killen sending an ambitious chip comfortably over the bar before rising to head Simon Elliott’s inswinging free-kick into the arms of Slovakia’s goalkeeper Jan Mucha.

Twenty minutes had elapsed before Slovakia produced a moment of menace, captain Marek Hamsik curling a shot from the left of the area just beyond the far post.

Gradually they began to assert themselves and, after being played into the box by the lively Vladimir Weiss, Stanislav Sestak toe-poked a shot inches wide of Paston’s left-hand upright.

Paston was fortunate to escape unpunished after completely missing the ball as he attempted to punt the ball clear from the left edge of his box. Robert Vittek picked up the loose ball but the goalkeeper recovered to snuff out the danger.

Vittek then sent a long range effort wide before New Zealand’s best chance of the half fell to Smeltz. The forward’s strike from a tight angle was cleanly struck but Mucha’s touch was enough to deflect it into the side netting.

There was another scare for New Zealand when Paston allowed Jan Durica’s header to bounce across his goalmouth but Killen was on hand to hook the ball clear.

Minutes before the break, Tony Lochhead was booked for a foul on Weiss and the resulting free-kick was squared to Hamsik, whose dipping shot was palmed over the bar by Paston.