The All Whites began their Oceania World Cup qualifying campaign on a winning note at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar on March 18, edging a plucky Papua New Guinea team 1-0 as their bid to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals for a third time began on the right note. But the goal shouldn't have been awarded, Qatari referee Saoud Al-Abda erring by allowing a quickly taken free-kick - from which the All Whites scored - to take place while he was still recording the details of Felix Komolong's booking, the defender having fouled goalscorer Ben Waine just outside the penalty area fifteen minutes from time. The Papuans were furious in response to the goal being awarded, and rightly so. They had done well to frustrate Danny Hay's charges for much of the match with a well-drilled offside trap and generally solid play to supplement the liveliness of Tommy Semmy, whose first contribution to the contest could well have seen "The Kapuls" take a shock lead inside the opening thirty seconds of play. Straight from the kick-off, fullback Koriak Upaiga picked out Semmy further up the left flank, and the speedy striker skipped inside before delivering a cross to the far post which found Emmanuel Simon arriving in behind Nikko Boxall. Before the PNG man could unleash an acute-angled shot, however, the defender recovered to prevent what would have been a stunning start to a match in which New Zealand indulged in ye olde long ball tactics far more often than they would have preferred, so effective was the game plan of opponents who, thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, last kicked a ball in anger in 2019. The All Whites mustered just one chance in the first twenty minutes of play, Costa Barbarouses working a one-two with the outstanding Matt Garbett in the seventeenth minute, before fizzing in a low angled cross just beyond the incoming figure of Andre de Jong, the ball then just missing the far post, much to the relief of Papuan goalkeeper Ronald Warisan. Eight minutes later, a ball over the top from Garbett was latched onto by de Jong, who was thwarted by a fine tackle from Felix Komolong, who, with brother Alwin, was central to much of the All Whites' frustration - they marshalled their backline splendidly. But they couldn't clear Clayton Lewis' resulting corner, however, his delivery picking out de Jong, whose header ricocheted off a defender towards Winston Reid, six yards out from goal. The All Whites captain headed his attempt to break the deadlock narrowly over the bar. It was PNG's turn to threaten a goal in the 31st minute. Simon's driving run from midfield wasn't challenged by anyone clad in black, and the man who was unable to capitalise on the game's first opportunity invited Raymond Gunemba to let fly from inside the 'D'. His attempt was always rising over the goal of Oliver Sail, one of three All Whites to make their debut for their country in this match. New Zealand's response to this threat saw Cameron Howieson combine well with Dalton Wilkins on the left before the Auckland City midfielder picked out de Jong with a cross which the striker volleyed over the bar from the edge of the penalty area. Ten minutes before half-time, the last noteworthy opportunity of the half saw Warisan produce a magnificent point-blank save to prevent Garbett from opening the scoring. Howieson released Wilkins down the left, and the fullback delivered quality into the heart of the goalmouth. Warisan parried Garbett's attempt to break the deadlock, then recovered well to prevent both de Jong and Barbarouses from turning home the rebound in a match which saw the All Whites engineer the majority of the opportunities, but fail to do justice to their creativity.

Another such opening materialised six minutes into the second half, from another Lewis corner. This one wasn't cleared, and Joey Champness saw his close-range header headed off the line by well-placed fullback Daniel Joe. "The Kapuls" responded with another close call just after the hour. Gunemba got to the by-line before backheeling the ball to Joe, whose teasing near post cross found half-time substitute Kolu Kepo arriving on cue. His header slammed into the side-netting. The All Whites should have been awarded a penalty in the 66th minute, following another Garbett through ball. Felix Komolong was comfortably shepherding it through to Warisan when de Jong intervened, prompting the goalkeeper to charge out and clumsily fell the forward. As Komolong cleared the loose ball, referee Al-Abda wasn't having a bar of any penalty appeals, but perhaps this was playing on his mind nine minutes later when he allowed Garbett to take the quick free-kick arising from the foul on debutant Waine, de Jong's replacement. Two wrongs don't make a right, of course, but Waine certainly wasn't complaining as he tucked home Dane Ingham's cross while the Papuans were busying themselves preparing for a defensive set-piece. When they realised what was going on, and the goal was awarded … let's just say Mr Al-Abda was subjected to a barrage of complaints from the red-clad Papuans, none of which prompted him to reconsider his decision in a venue which lacked the facilities to house a Video Assistant Referee. Once they'd scored, the All Whites shifted through the gears, and carved out five chances in the final fifteen minutes which left those watching in no doubt which team was the more deserving of victory. Warisan raced out of his penalty area in the 78th minute to clear off the toes of Waine, as he latched onto yet another perceptive through ball from Garbett. Five minutes later, the charging figure of Barbarouses - one hopes the TV commentator does his homework before the next game in terms of learning how to pronounce his surname! - picked out Logan Rogerson with a cross which the substitute directed onto the crossbar with a diving header. Rogerson turned provider in the 89th minute, setting up Garbett for a twenty-five yard drive which crashed against the bar. The midfielder's smart play soon after resulted in a cross for Boxall, who was only denied a headed goal by a fine save from Warisan, who looked on with relief in stoppage time as Waine just failed to make contact with a low cross from Garbett, the midfielder having been released by Rogerson after he had caught Komolong in possession. In the end, it was a case of 'job done' for the All Whites, scoreline regardless, the first of five wins they hope to amass at this Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament, the reward for which is a play-off against the fourth-placed team in the CONCACAF qualifying competition. Fiji, who edged New Caledonia 2-1 in the other encounter in this group, provide the opposition for Danny Hay's team in three days' time, a match which will be the 100th FIFA World Cup fixture in New Zealand's history. Papua NG:     Warisan; Joe, F. Komolong (booked, 75), A. Komolong, Upaiga; A. Kepo (K. Kepo, 46), Sabua, Muta (Yasasa, 58), Semmy; Simon, Gunemba (Gubag, 81) All Whites:     Sail; Ingham, Reid, Boxall, Wilkins; Garbett, Lewis (booked, 14), Howieson (Old, 67); Barbarouses (Smith, 90), de Jong (Waine, 67), Champness (Rogerson, 76 (booked, 90)) Referee:     Saoud Al-Abda (Qatar)