New Zealand have not taken long to stamp their authority on the OFC U-16 Championship, going on the goal rampage against Vanuatu to claim an 8-0 win in the opening match of the tournament.

Coach Jose Figueira had spoken of his desire for his players to assert their dominance right from the opening whistle and they did just that at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara to get their campaign to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup off to the perfect start.

Ryan Verney, Henry Hamilton and Oskar van Hattum all notched doubles while Bradley Wilson and Joseph Lee also got on the scoresheet as New Zealand fired off an ominous warning to their Group A rivals.

“We’re delighted, you always want to start off the tournament with a win and I think today the boys showed that and a lot more,” Figueira said.

“Once we broke down the Vanuatu defence, we really just kicked on with our confidence and our quality. It was a really positive start and it was really encouraging to see the boys in their first ever international go out and put on such a top performance.”

Figueira felt his side’s ability in possession was the main difference between the teams.

“I think the way we were really organised with the ball meant we could maintain possession, control the tempo and the game which is something that’s really difficult to do over here at these tournaments. That meant we could deal with Vanuatu’s counter attacks and we minimised them to very few opportunities,” he said.

“We obviously created a lot of opportunities ourselves and took them so, all in all, it’s a really positive start to the tournament. It’s one I’m sure the boys won’t forget and it breeds a lot more confidence.”

In such an accomplished team effort, Figueira did not feel able to single out individuals but was pleased with the clinical efforts of those who scored more than once.

“It’s nice to see your attacking players put the ball in the back of the net,” he said.

“They’re part of a really great team work ethic and they do just as much work as the rest of the boys so that was really encouraging to see. I’m just really delighted that on their first international the boys banded together and put on a really top team performance.”

Figueira and the rest of his coaching staff will now turn their attentions to Wednesday’s encounter with the Solomon Islands and he says there is still room for improvement.

“We’ll review the game and there’s always things that you want to improve on,” he said.

“We want to improve the way we attack and the way we move with the ball as we progress in the tournament and get more minutes. As you go further in the tournament, those elements become really important so the focus is now on recovering and tomorrow the boys will start to focus on our second game.”

Match Details

Vanuatu 0
New Zealand 8 (Ryan Verney 9’, 24’, Bradley Wilson 25’, Henry Hamilton 37’, 45’ + 1’, Oskar van Hattum pen 55’, 76’, Joseph Lee 90’ + 3’)
HT: 0-5

New Zealand: 1. Alex Paulsen (GK), 2. Max Drake, 4. Adam Hillis, 5. Ryan Verney (18. Ben Old 56’), 6. Campbell Strong (c), 8. Jackson Manuel (19. Harry Bark 81’), 9. Henry Hamilton (10. Joseph Lee 70’), 14. Oskar van Hattum, 15. Bradley Wilson, 17. Nathan Lobo, 19. Hayden Aish
Substitutes not used: 3. Kris Naicker, 12. Luca Taylor (GK), 13. Finn O’Connor
Coach: Jose Figueira

Article added: Sunday 09 September 2018