New Zealand have finished the group stages of the OFC U-19 Championship undefeated after they beat Papua New Guinea 4-0 in hot conditions today in Papeete.

The Des Buckingham-coached side, who overcame hosts Tahiti 2-1 and were too good for Tonga (14-0) in their opening two games, continued their momentum in the earlier midday kick-off, with four second-half goals to comfortably claim top place in Group A ahead of the semi-finals.

Experienced forward Max Mata, who took the captain’s armband for the first time with Joe Bell not starting their third match, netted two penalties and a third to complete a memorable hat-trick, and second-half substitute Matthew Conroy scored from open play to overcome a determined Papua New Guinea outfit.

“It was a tough game, kicking off in the midday heat, and we have been able to rotate the squad and come away with a 4-0 win,” said Buckingham. “We are in a good position. Everybody has now played and everyone is fully fit and healthy as we prepare for our semi-final.”

Due to the adverse weather conditions of constant heavy rain over the past two days in Papeete, the condition of the pitch at Stade Pater deteriorated quicker than expected. Stade Fautaua was selected to host the remaining Group A and Group B matches.

In Group B, the Solomon Islands have recorded two wins from two and are on track to top the group, while Fiji and New Caledonia have a crucial showdown for their final encounter at Stade Fautaua on Monday (NZT) to claim the final spot who New Zealand will face.

Papua New Guinea, who had defeated Tonga 4-0 and went down 6-0 to Tahiti in their opening two games, delivered a much more impressive effort in the first half as they looked to upset the defending champions.

New Zealand’s best chance of the opening half came in the 13^th minute when Mata delivered a fine cross for Dane Schnell who connected well with a strong header but was denied by Papua New Guinea’s impressive goalkeeper Graham Berigami.

In fact, Papua New Guinea gave as good as they got during the first half. They were unlucky to not take the lead when Stahl Gubag fired a powerful shot from outside of the area, but New Zealand keeper Cameron Brown was good enough to tip it over the cross bar.

“Credit to Papua New Guinea,” said Buckingham. “They made life very difficult for us in the first half and managed to shut down the space we have been able to exploit in the first two games.”

New Zealand came close to claiming the lead in injury time of the first half. Mata chested down a cross on the edge of the six-yard and was about to get a shot away when his effort was blocked by a defender. There was more to come from the Kiwi captain after the break as New Zealand finally broke the deadlock in the 46^th minute.

From the kick off, New Zealand pressed forward into the penalty and Conroy, who made an immediate impact from the bench, was taken down in a challenge and the referee Joel Hopken pointed to the spot. Mata hammered his effort into the roof of the net to take the lead.

There was more to come 11 minutes later when Papua New Guinea’s Sylvester Luke was shown a yellow card for a rash challenge in the box. Hopken did not hesitate again in pointing to the spot.

The New Zealand captain hit a powerful effort again to the bottom right which gave Berigami little chance as Mata extended the Kiwis’ lead.

Mata looked odds-on to complete his hat-trick in the 67^th minute, but his attempt was saved and Conroy was on hand to finish the follow up as he scored New Zealand’s first goal of the day from open play.

Mata was not to be denied though and saved his best to last. He produced a lovely close-range finish in the 88^th minute to complete an impressive second half showing.

“Credit to our boys we responded in that second half,” said Buckingham. “We are in a position now where we have won three from three, scored quite a few goals and only conceded one, and we have managed to rotate the squad which sets us up really well going into the semi-final.”

New Zealand will find out who they face tomorrow when New Caledonia and Fiji play their final pool game. If New Zealand wins their semi-final, they will book their place in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland next year, with the top two teams from the championship qualifying.

OFC U-19 Championship – Group A Fixture
New Zealand 4 (Max Mata 46’ (pen), 57’ (pen), 88’, Conroy 67’) Papua New Guinea 0
HT: 0-0

New Zealand: 1. Cameron Brown, 3. Dino Botica, 5. Robert Tipelu, 6. Dane Schnell, 8. Trevor Zwetsloot (16. Leon Van Den Hoven 55’), 9. Max Mata (c),, 11. Willem Ebbinge (7. Matthew Conroy 46’), 15. Callan Elliot, 17. Boyd Curry, 18. Kingsley Sinclair (14. Jorge Akers 78’), 19. Oliver Whyte

Substitutes not used: 12. Zac Jones (GK), 2. Jordan Spain, 4. Joe Bell, 10. Charles Spragg
Head Coach Des Buckingham
Caution: Boyd Curry

OFC U-19 Championship
Semi-Finals
August 16 (NZT)
Stade Pater, Pirae

Final
August 19 (NZT)
Stade Pater, Pirae

Article added: Sunday 12 August 2018