New Zealand take opening win – Solomons out

Two quick goals saw New Zealand knock the Solomon Islands out of the OFC Nations Cup.

New Zealand – Solomon Islands 3-0

Solomon Islands needed a win to keep their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

But it was New Zealand who got the game into their lane immediately, with Ben Waine getting on the scoresheet after only five minutes.

Waine chested the ball down inside the box, turned and smashed the ball into the back of the net from a slightly weird angle.

In the 11th minute Waine would get his second, as he sent the ball into the net with a clinical finish.

NZ would keep control of the game, and Waine almost got his hat trick midway through the half, but was denied by a brilliant Phillip Mango save.

“I was a bit dissapointed to not get the hat trick but its nice to be scoring in a New Zealand shirt again”, Waine, who had one goal prior to Tuesdays’ match, tells Football in Oceania.

“I think we could have controlled the game a little bit more, it got a bit lose towards the end of the first half and in the second. That’s something we’ll look at, but overall its a great start to any tournament.”

Solomons played their way into the match, with their best chance coming from a Gagame Feni shot.

It looked like it would end with 2-0 at half time, but in added time NZ capitalised on a corner. Captain Kosta Barbarouses managed to get his foot on a loose ball in the box and send it into the net via a Solomons defender.

The second half saw Solomon Islands come out and take charge of the ball.

But they struggled to produce many chances with the possession they had.

As the half wore on it became clear that New Zealand had total control of the match, and in the end they saw it out with not much happening in the second half.

“Sometimes when its 3-0 at half time, the games are a bit like that. But what was good for us was that we got everybody on the pitch. There was six people today making their debut, and they’ll be better for that. Us as a squad will be better for that, and they can put that behind them for the rest of the tournament,” New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley tells Football in Oceania.

Raphael Lea’i almost managed to score a consolation goal with the final kick of the game, but the ball bounced off the post and out behind Alex Paulsen, who made his debut in the New Zealand goal.

“It’s fantastic to start the game off with a clean sheet and three points. Me and Lea’i are good mates, from when he came down to Wellington a few years back. He tried to stick one on me on the near post.”

The result means that Solomon Islands have been knocked out.

“What can you say. We’re out of it. We’re not really prepared well for this tournament,” Solomons coach Jacob Moli tells Football in Oceania.

“We just have to go back and prepare the boys for the arrival of the new coach. I’m just the interim coach for this tournament, so when the new coach comes he can train and prepare the boys well for the qualifying for the World Cup.”

“The team has a lot of young players who have a long career ahead of them. I hope they can take something out of this tournament and build on it.”

While New Zealand and Vanuatu will battle it out for the top spot in the group on Friday.

“I think Vanuatu are going to be a bit tougher. There’s going to be a big crowd and because they won their first game, they’re going to come with a lot of energy. It’s going to be a step up,” Bazeley says.

About Author