To see Socceroo and Kiwi fans at the MCG...

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Bertos endured a torrid five minutes during the game, which Australia fortunately won 2-1, as he was cut down firstly by Grella and then by Tim Cahill. But he has emerged from the game with only bad bruising to his leg and says he has his shin guards to thank.

"I'll just wait for the swelling to go down and I'll think I'll be right," he said. "I can walk on it straight away and everything's ok. My shin is sore. My shin pads saved me."

Grella said there was a sense of regret about his challenge and admitted he was lucky to get just a yellow card.

"I think maybe a little bit too hard in the tackle and it's probably not needed in a friendly game but it's a part of the football and I take full responsibility for what happened," he said.

Cahill said his collision with Bertos was a case of bad luck and he was sorry to see the All Whites winger stretchered off.

Bertos wouldn't buy into whether both players deserved to be sent off, but indicated there was a level of unease about the challenges in the New Zealand dressing room.

"I couldn't really tell what happened with both of them," said Bertos. "I was just going for the ball and felt some contact on my leg.

"I haven't seen any replays or anything like that, the boys are telling me that they are strong challenges.

"I guess some of the boys were saying that (they should have been sent off), but I don't know what else to say, I'm just grateful that I'm alright."

New Zealand skipper Ryan Nelsen, who is Grella's team-mate at Blackburn, said that while he is used to the Australian midfielder's aggressive play, he was lucky to remain on the field.

"I see Vince do those tackles week in and week out to tell you the truth so I'm not really surprised," he said.

"It's quite ironic that I think the referee said that it would have been a red card if it hadn't have been a friendly, but Leo will be alright. 

"They were very frustrated and maybe thought it would be a lot easier than it was. You could tell the crowd was on their back and they were getting frustrated and that just happens, it's football."

While Bertos escaped serious injury in the tackles, the World Cup campaign of Tim Brown hangs in the balance after he injured his shoulder and was taken to hospital for x-rays.

To see Socceroo and Kiwi fans at the MCG...

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