There can have been no more relieved man in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium than Parker when he scored South Africa's first goal of the tournament before nearly 37,000 raucous fans. The striker had unwittingly prevented his team's victory in the opening match against Iraq on Sunday when a shot from his own team mate struck him in the back of the legs as it was about to cross the line for a goal. Parker showed no sign that the mishap had rocked his confidence when he took Masilela's cross and swept it past New Zealand keeper Glen Moss with his left foot. His second goal early in the second half owed a little to luck as another Masilela cross struck his left thigh, deflecting the ball just inside Moss's left-hand post.

NEAR HAT-TRICK

Parker could have completed his hat-trick 10 minutes later with a clever glancing header but Moss saved well. South Africa dominated the game against a weak New Zealand side and squandered a host of chances to build on their lead. They also fell far too readily into the away team's defensive trap, having a goal in each half disallowed for offside.

Those misses could prove costly to their chances of reaching the semi-final from Group A. With one match to go Spain have qualified on six points and the hosts lie second with four. Iraq have one and New Zealand none.