New Zealand booked their place in the OFC Men’s U19 Championship Final, and with it, qualification for the FIFA U20 World Cup as they proved too strong for New Caledonia, claiming a 6-1 victory in their semi-final clash at Football HQ in Apia, Samoa.

As predicted by many, New Zealand dominated possession and territory throughout the contest and it was therefore of little surprise when, just before the cooling break in the first half, they took the lead with a well-constructed goal.

Aaron Cartwright was the architect, beating his marker and threading a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Harley Hill who proved to be a deadly executioner, arrowing a low finish across and underneath New Caledonia goalkeeper Raphael Genton to open the scoring.

Hill almost had a second on the half-hour, his firm strike turned over the bar by Genton, as New Zealand continued to create half-chances without overly threatening to run away with the fixture. New Caledonia, meanwhile, were left to live off scraps in the final third, not able to fashion a clearcut opening.

Just before half-time though, New Zealand struck again in similar fashion to the first. Bailey Ferguson picked out the run of captain Alex Lienard, and the fullback finished with a carbon copy of Hill’s earlier goal, driving low underneath Genton. From the restart Kylian Wiako shot over the bar after getting in behind the New Zealand defence with New Caledonia’s best opening as the half ended 2-0.

It took New Zealand just six minutes after the restart to effectively book their passage into the Final, and secure their World Cup ticket, as they netted a third. Ferguson again found a way through a flat New Caledonian back line, allowing Hill to finish first-time with his left foot.

Hill turned provider three minutes later, carving his way through the defence once more and skipping around Genton to put a goal on a plate for Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues. A fifth followed in the 64th minute, substitute Nathan Martin reacting fastest to turn home after an Oliver Grosso shot had cannoned back off the base of the post.

Despite the outcome of the match long since being decided, New Caledonia kept pushing forward seeking, at the very least, a consolation goal and got one when they were awarded a penalty with twenty minutes to play.

Maurice Katrawa took the responsibility and fired home, inflicting the first goal conceded by New Zealand at this tournament. That was a minor setback for the young Kiwis though as they marched onto a Final showdown with Tahiti adding a sixth in stoppage time through Grosso.

STATISTICS
Semi-Final

New Zealand: 6 (Harley HILL 23’, 51’, Alex LIENARD 43’, Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES 54’, Nathan MARTIN 64’, Oliver GROSSO 90+5’)

New Caledonia: 1 (Maurice KATRAWA 70’ (p))

HT: 2-0

Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek