Striker Shane Smeltz missed an 89th-minute penalty as New Zealand and Honduras fought out a torrid 1-1 draw in a friendly on Saturday.
Smeltz had the chance to win the match for New Zealand when local referee Peter O'Leary awarded a contentious penalty, declaring that defender Winston Reid was being held down by Jerry Bengston at a corner.
The shot from Smeltz was deflected onto the crossbar by Honduras' goalkeeper and captain Noel Valladares and the Turkish-based forward missed a second chance from the rebound.
Striker Chris Wood had put New Zealand in front with his first international goal in the 45th minute but Walter Martinez equalized midway through the second half.
Wood, who took the place of the injured Rory Fallon, scored his first international goal in his 13th match for New Zealand by heading home Jeremy Brockie's right-wing cross.
The tall 18-year-old posed a constant threat to the Honduras defense and had a series of shots on goal but was unable to add to his 45th-minute strike.
Martinez headed the equalizer in the 65th minute, earning a valuable draw for a Honduras team which is rebuilding after June's World Cup in South Africa. Coach Juan de Dios Castillo has dropped 13 members of Honduras' World Cup squad and was looking for his young players to show the ability to step up to international football on Saturday.
''The people (of Honduras) think it's a great opportunity to show, to a new continent, how Honduras is growing its football,'' Castillo said.
''The result, for the FIFA rankings, is important of course but most important is the development of the ideas I want to increase in the national team.''
New Zealand, ranked 49, entered the match as slight favorites over Honduras, ranked 52, and was playing its first match since the World Cup at which it was the only team not to lose a match, yet didn't progress from group play.
The hosts dominated long periods of the match and Wood provided a target up front, but the All Whites failed to take advantage of more than 15 shots on goal.
''I suppose we had the chances, not just with the penalty, to put the game away and we didn't take them,'' captain Ryan Nelsen said.
''They had opportunities as well and scored a very good goal. That's football, I guess. All the guys created chances and it was a fantastic header from Woodsie.''
The Honduras players were incensed with the penalty and angrily remonstrated with the referee.
