A goal in each half to Odil Akhmedov secured the result for the 51st ranked Asian nation as the home side showed real quality in attacking transition and counter attack situations, underlining their place as one of the top sides in the competitive Asian Confederation.
Uzbekistan skipper Server Djeparov added the third goal in the 76th minute, driving home a cut back from the penalty spot.
The All Whites scored a late consolation, the first international goal in 44 games for Wellington Phoenix front man Jeremy Brockie coming in the 86th minute after good work from Chris Wood and debutant substitute Joel Stevens.
The best moments for the New Zealand side came midway through the first half with the match still scoreless as the All Whites built on some organised defensive work in their own half.
Their best chance fell to Wood in the 19th minute as the Leicester City striker headed a Chris James free kick on target but a sharp save by goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov on the goal line turned the ball away.
Six minutes later Kosta Barbarouses fired a shot narrowly wide after excellent build-up play through midfield saw the Melbourne Victory striker played into the Uzbekistan penalty area.
From that point the home side wrestled into control of the match and opened the scoring in the 41st minute after a New Zealand cross eluded Wood in the Uzbekistan area. The third-ranked team in Asia surged downfield and Akhmedov drove the ball superbly into the top corner from the edge of the area out of the reach of All Whites goalkeeper Glen Moss.
The second goal came in similar fashion 12 minutes after the restart as Uzbekistan pounced on a turnover and moved to the top of the New Zealand area where a deflected pass fell kindly to Akhmedov who made no mistake in lashing a powerful left-footed shot into the bottom right hand corner of Glen Moss’ net.
Djeparov’s goal 20 minutes later put the home side out of reach with Brockie’s finish in the dying stages serving as reward for the scorer and for Wood, who worked hard without the ball over the course of the match.
Speaking in the post match press conference Hudson acknowledged the strength of the opposition and said he now has a better feel for the task ahead.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we weren’t going to have it all our own way but certainly we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Hudson said.
“I think we played against a team tonight who were physically stronger, experienced and managed the game well. For good parts of the game I felt we were just a little bit soft in terms of our approach to the game.”
Hudson says Tuesday’s clash now serves as a signpost for the direction he must take the team as he looks to chart a course towards qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
“I’ll come away from this and look at the performance and analyse the players and figure out what we need to do from here.
“We’ve come here today and we’ve had a good idea of where we need to be when we come to our qualifiers. Uzbekistan is always a team who are knocking on the door in terms of qualification. We always knew it was going to be a tough game.
“Tonight has given me a good idea of individual players and we’re we are at as a group right now. I feel I’m in a really good position now to identify what we need in all departments.”
Match details
Uzbekistan 3-1 New Zealand (half: 1-0)
UZB: Odil Akhmedov 41’, 57’, Server Djeparov 76’
NZL: Jeremy Brockie 86’
New Zealand: 1. Glen Moss (GK), 2. Winston Reid (capt), 6. Bill Tuiloma (21. Cameron Howieson 81’), 7. Tyler Boyd (18. Tim Payne 64’), 8. Michael McGlinchey, 13. Chris James (16. Jeremy Brockie 64’), 15. Storm Roux, 17. Kosta Barbarouses (14. Joel Stevens 81’), 20. Chris Wood, 22. Andrew Durante, 27. Thomas Doyle
Substitutes not used: 4. Ben Sigmund, 12. Tamati Williams (GK), 19. Michael Boxall
Story courtesy NZF Media
For more on New Zealand football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz.

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