New Zealand stamped their authority on Group B by brushing aside Vanuatu 5-0 on Match Day 3 of the OFC Nations Cup competition in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea last night.
Following their comprehensive win the All Whites are virtually guaranteed top spot in their group while Vanuatu’s dreams of progressing even through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying took a major dent.
Anthony Hudson’s men were at their clinical best in the first half against their Melanesian rivals scoring five times before the break.
Skipper Chris Wood started the ball rolling with two quick goals before Michael McGlinchey made it 3-0 inside ten minutes.
Wood left the field with an injury early on in the piece passing the captain’s armband to his veteran strike partner Rory Fallon, who wasted no time in putting the result beyond any doubt with the All Whites’ fourth in the 19th minute.
Wood’s replacement Kosta Barbarouses put the icing on the cake for New Zealand with a smart finish at the stroke of half time.
Playing for pride, Vanuatu was determined to stem the tide and Moise Poida’s men showed a lot of heart and fighting spirit to keep New Zealand scoreless in the second 45.
Vanuatu grew in confidence as the game progressed with both Brian Kaltack and Bill Nicholls forcing of number of good saves from All Whites keeper Stefan Marinovic.
Following a far more closely contested second half, All Whites coach Anthony Hudson was satisfied with the result.
“We are pleased with 5-0. It's about winning, we won 5-0 and kept a clean sheet, we are happy,” he said.
Meanwhile his Vanuatu counterpart Moise Poida couldn’t hide his frustration with his side’s first half performance.
“The problem is when we played against Solomon Islands we only played the second half - same thing today (Tuesday). We learn in the first half, and we play in the second. We didn't come here to learn though, we came here to play and compete. Even though this team is young it's the best Vanuatu team, it's just inexperienced,” he lamented.
“A real lack of concentration. We were too slow to think and even though we talked and talked, we were not listening. That's the big problem.”
Fiji will play Vanuatu while the Solomons face New Zealand to decide the top two spots in Group B on Saturday.
Pic: Vanuatu Football/Facebook