All Whites too strong for Fiji
It wasn’t perfect but a 3-1 win against Fiji to start the Oceania Nations Cup was enough to satisfy All Whites coach Anthony Hudson.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given it was their first game in more than seven months, New Zealand produced a rusty display against an industrious but ultimately outclassed Fijian outfit in the sticky Port Moresby conditions yesterday.
First-half goals to Themi Tzimopolous and Rory Fallon and a second-half penalty to captain Chris Wood got the Kiwis home.
Hudson’s team spurned other chances and were put under pressure by Fiji skipper and Phoenix frontman Roy Krishna, who converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime to make it 2-1 at the break.
But it was the result, not so much the performance, Hudson focused on after the match.
‘‘We are pleased,’’ he said. ‘‘It was important we just won the game today. They’re a good team, a strong team and they caused us problems, especially Krishna. I was pleased we showed a great togetherness and resilience.
"We have a couple of days now to recover . . . today was all about winning and we will be ready for the next game."
That next game is on Tuesday against Vanuatu, with late arrivals Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas expected to see game-time.
And although Hudson will hope the classy duo add some fluency after a sometimes disjointed first-up effort, he can also look back positively on how his side overcome that and ground out victory in the hot and humid conditions.
The opening goal in the 14th minute from Tzimopolous, the defender’s first for New Zealand, came just as his side began to assert their dominance.
An initial Wood shot produced a superb save from Fijian goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau, only for the rebound to fall kindly for the Greek top league player to knock in from close range.
As halftime approached the All Whites got more reward, Fallon scoring when Fiji failed to control the ball in deep defence and an attempted clearance cannoned off the veteran striker’s chest and in.
A sloppy challenge from young centre-back Sam Brotherton allowed Krishna to pull one back as the team’s headed to the break, but that was about the last reason for his side to smile.
Wood produced the only remaining scoring action, slotting home his 15th All Whites goal from the spot in the 60th minute when Fallon’s powerful drive thundered into the arm of a retreating Krishna.
The winner of the Nations Cup, which is the second round of Oceania qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, book a spot at next year’s Confederations Cup in the same country.