All Whites win sixth Oceania Nations Cup title
The All Whites have completed the perfect Oceania Nations Cup – winning every game, including the final, without conceding a single goal.
Goals from Auckland FC signings Cam Howieson, Jesse Randall, Max Mata, saw the All Whites claim a record sixth Nations Cup title with a comfortable 3-0 over hosts Vanuatu at Port Vila yesterday.
Despite missing a bunch of front-line players, most notably star striker Chris Wood, the All Whites were class above all tournament. They scored 15 goals and conceded 0 across four games.
Although first-time finalists Vanuatu put in a spirited performance in their first-ever final, a New Zealand victory was never in doubt from the moment Howieson struck with a sweetly-timed volley two minutes in.
The early breakthrough came after Vanuatu failed to clear. Howieson pounced and struck a first-time effort from the edge of the penalty area after the initial shot from Kosta Barbarouses was blocked by a defender.
The All Whites scored in the first 10 minutes in every game they played.
Led by their sole professional player, Central Coast Mariners defender, Brian Kaltak, Vanuatu were always going to be up against it against a team full of fulltime professionals. But they managed to prevent the All Whites from scoring again until the final 10 minutes, after they had been reduced to 10 men.
“We came up against team with a lot of heart,” All Whites coach Darren Bazley said.
“They didn’t really hurt us, we were in control for most of it, but we didn’t put them away and they stayed in the game, and that’s a credit to Vanuatu.”
Vanuatu were chasing the game from the second minute but their task became even harder when defender Timothy Boulet was shown his second yellow card with 25 minutes to go.
Vanuatu lucky not to lose another player to a red card following an off the ball incident at the same time.
Straight after Boulet went flying into midfielder Ben Old, Jared Clark could be seen grabbing Alex Rufer in the throat and knocking him to the ground, but the referee failed to spot it while he was dealing with the initial infringement.
It was all New Zealand from there. Randall and Mata scored in the final 10 minutes to secure another dominant victory.
At VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila: All Whites 3 (Cam Howieson 2’, Jesse Randall 83’, 89’) Vanuatu 0. HT: 1-0.