A brave display from a young All Whites side wasn't enough to overcome the Republic of Ireland in the international football friendly in Dublin on Friday.
In their first international in 525 days, New Zealand fell 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium against a vastly experienced Irish side.
While the All Whites lost, rookie coach Danny Hay will take positives from the match, highlighted by impressive debuts from Joe Bell, Callum McCowatt and Elijah Just.
Captain Winston Reid, who played the first half, also impressed in his first competitive match since March 2018, while Ryan Thomas, who has just returned from an ACL injury, put in a solid 72-minute performance.
Ireland, who are ranked 85 places above New Zealand in the world, dominated possession early in the match, but couldn't convert their chances, as the All Whites defence held firm. At one stage, they had 68 percent possession.
The All Whites silenced the Dublin crowd, when they opened the scoring against the run of play, McCowatt latching onto a low cross from Liberto Cacace.
New Zealand looked set to reach the halftime break with the lead, but Ireland equalised, when Derrick Williams leapt over Cacace to score from a corner.
Ireland carried the momentum into the second half and the hosts took the lead, when Sean Maguire's shot from outside the penalty box flew past All Whites goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic into the top corner.
The All Whites had few chances to equalise and the result was put out of their reach, when Callum Robinson scored Ireland's third from a close-range header.
Ireland finished the match with 22 shots on goal, compared to New Zealand's 10.
The All Whites are back in action on Monday, when they face Lithuania in Vilnius.
The Lithuanians, who are ranked lower than New Zealand, head into the match after a 6-0 thrashing against Portugal.
Lithuania haven't won in their last 19 games - they beat Armenia in a 2018 exhibition match.
