Coach Jimmy Katoa and his charges booked their spot with a thrilling 2-0 win over Vanuatu and have now become the first side from their country to qualify for the semi-finals of a tournament.
New Zealand’s path out of the group stages had already been assured with their two earlier victories but they continued their free-scoring form, posting a 7-0 win over Tahiti, who join Vanuatu in being eliminated.
The Cook Islanders had to wait until the last ten minutes of their match to be sure of the groundbreaking win. They had dominated much of the game without being able to score until Dayna Napa provided the finishing touches to a breakaway in the 83rd minute.
That sent their vocal supporters delirious and they were on their feet again just minutes later when captain Mama Henry smashed a powerful shot into the top corner.
The midfielder was delighted to have led her girls into the record books.
“We’ve made history so it’s something to be proud of,” she says. ”Our goal was to get as far as we can and this was what we had in mind.”
Henry sees no reason why they can’t now go even further and challenge for the title.
“I know my girls and when we put our hearts into things we really go for it. If we can make it this far then I’m confident we can win the next game and make it to the final.”
In the afternoon’s other match, a spirited Tahiti effort kept the Ferns out until the 36th minute when youngster Bridgette Armstrong climbed high to head home Ria Percival’s corner for her first senior international goal.
The Tahitians kept their discipline and defensive structure after the break and frustrated the Kiwis to no end. But with the strong wind behind them, the home side eventually took control with Amber Hearn giving them a two-goal cushion on the hour mark.
Hearn scored the goal of the match in the 75th minute with a 25-yard screamer before Anna Green’s back post header made it three less than a minute later. The other goals went to Sweden-based midfielder Kirsty Yallop, Sarah Gregorius (her fourth of the campaign) and Ria Percival, whose stoppage-time corner sailed over Poroni Turana – the only blight on the goalkeeper’s outstanding afternoon.
New Zealand coach John Herdman was pleased with the performance despite the slow start.
“We certainly didn’t go out lethargic but I think we were trying to adapt to their style of play which we don’t encounter very often. Back in the day we were renowned for that style ourselves and you can see why teams would play like that,” he says.
“It was frustrating as a coach and for the players but we need to learn how to deal with all situations. In the last 25 minutes we recognised that we could start sending centre backs forward and really overload them and that’s when we caused them problems.”
Attention turns to Group B tomorrow with Tonga facing Papua New Guinea on the North Harbour Stadium artificial pitch and Fiji meeting Solomon Islands on the oval ground, both matches kicking off at 3.30pm. Papua New Guinea have already made sure of a semi-final berth but the other three sides have everything to play for.
LIVE text updates of every match will be available online at oceaniafootball.com
Tahiti vs. New Zealand – Match Summary Download PDF
Vanuatu vs. Cook Islands – Match Summary Download PDF
Competition Summary after Match Day 5 Download PDF