New Zealand have taken another major step towards the OFC Nations Cup semi-finals on a day that also brought joy and a vital, hard-fought win for Fiji. Talismanic captain Roy Krishna grabbed a late winner to boost Frank Farina’s side’s chances, while Anthony Hudson's Kiwis are all but assured of their place in the last four after a comfortable 5-0 win over Vanuatu. 

The All Whites had been unconvincing in their opening-match win over the Fijians but were on their game from the first whistle at Sir John Guise Stadium in the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Morseby. Indeed, the match was as good as over inside 10 minutes, by which time Hudson’s side had raced into a three-goal lead.

In-form Chris Wood led the charge, tapping home a close-range opener in four minutes after Bill Tuiloma’s long throw had caused chaos in the Vanuatu box. The Leeds United striker then doubled his tally just a minute later, snatching on a weak back-pass and coolly slotting home for a seventh goal in his last seven international matches.
Vanuatu had caused the bulk of their own problems at this stage, but there was nothing they could do to prevent New Zealand’s third goal. Another of the All Whites stalwarts was responsible for the moment of magic, with Michael McGlinchey curling a superb free-kick up and over the wall and into the top corner from 20 yards.
The only cloud on the All Whites’ horizon at this stage was the loss of Wood, their on-song skipper, to a shoulder injury, although Rory Fallon – who took on the armband – made it 4-0 on 19 minutes after rounding the keeper. Wood’s replacement, Kosta Barbarouses, then rounded off the scoring just before half-time with a fine outside-of-the-foot finish to cap a near-perfect opening 45 for the rampant Kiwis.
With the job done, New Zealand eased off after the break and Vanuatu took the initiative, carving out a series of decent chances. But though they went close on several occasions, most notably through Daniel Natua’s powerful free-kick and a well-saved Bill Nicholls effort, they emerged empty-handed and must now beat the Solomon Islands to avoid finishing bottom.
The Solomons came off worse in a far tighter and more evenly matched game than the day’s opening fixture, with the best of the first-half chances breakaway that ended with Fiji's Benaminio Mateinagara saving well from Jerry Donga. It was the Fijians who were left celebrating, though, after Roy Krishna coolly converted from the spot six minutes from time having won the penalty himself.
The two sides are now level on three points, although Fiji look better placed to qualify, with Vanuatu awaiting in their next fixture and Solomons up against favourites New Zealand. The section’s top three will advance to the next round of FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, while the tournament winner will go on to represent the continent at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. 

ResultsVanuatu 0-5 New Zealand 
Solomon Islands 0-1 Fiji

Next UpDefending champions Tahiti will be aiming to strengthen their early stranglehold on Group B tomorrow when they take on Papua New Guinea, while Samoa – the section’s only pointless team - will be hoping to get off the mark against New Caledonia.