Thomas brace removes any doubts
Ryan Thomas’ first two international goals have sent the All Whites through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying.
The midfielder scored midway through either half as New Zealand beat Fiji 2-0 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington last night.
It was a match the All Whites should have won by more, but a lack of quality with their final ball let them down.
They relied heavily on getting the ball out wide for their wing backs to whip crosses in, but only two really found their mark as Tommy Smith rattled the crossbar in the first half and Thomas scored with his head in the 68th minute.
The few times the All Whites did attack down the middle they produced great chances. Clayton Lewis forced a good save from Fiji goalkeeper Beniamino Mateinaqara early in the first half, before Thomas received a great layoff from Shane Smeltz in the 27th minute, which he slotted with a great first-time finish into the bottomleft corner.
Aside from the final third, New Zealand were dominant in all other aspects of the game.
Their passing leading up to the final third was excellent, allowing Thomas and fellow central midfielder Lewis to receive the ball high up the pitch, especially in the first half.
That allowed them to link well with either the attacking duo of Marco Rojas and Smeltz, or play wide to marauding wing backs Dane Ingham and Doyle.
But that was normally where the play broke down as the big Fijian backline dealt with most of the crosses well.
The 17-year-old, Australian-born Ingham was on debut, and shared a special moment with his older brother, Jai, when the latter came off the bench in the second half to also make his All Whites debut.
They qualify for New Zealand through their Kiwi mother.
At the other end, Fiji offered very little.
Wellington Phoenix striker Roy Krishna tried his best to spark something, but was a lone ranger for most of the night.
New Zealand centre backs Smith, Andrew Durante and Michael Boxall defended well, as did their team-mates ahead of them as they pressed Fiji high up the field, causing the visitors to make countless mistakes in possession.
Smeltz, who started the match after captain Chris Wood returned to the United Kingdom early due to injury, had a goal ruled out late for offside after Mateinaqara spilled an innocuous cross into his path.
That summed up New Zealand’s two matches against Fiji, including the 2-0 win in Lautoka on Saturday, where they got the job done, but could have been a lot better in front of a good home crowd of 10,133.
Still, New Zealand have won group A of the third stage of Oceania World Cup Qualifying with the win.
Stage four will see them play the winner of group B, which Tahiti lead ahead of their crucial match against Papua New Guinea today.