The All Whites scored a comfortable 5-0 victory over Tahiti at Port Vila’s Freshwater Stadium on June 27 to advance to the final of the OFC Nations Cup, with host nation Vanuatu standing between them and a record sixth Confederation crown. The Tahitians were under the pump from the outset, with only desperate defending by Teva Lossec denying Costa Barbarouses in the third minute, after Ben Waine had charged through the inside-left channel. Four minutes later, the All Whites got the early goal they desired. Liberato Cacace unleashed a superb twenty-five yard free-kick around the defensive wall which left goalkeeper Teave Teamotuaitau beaten all ends up, only for the post to come to his rescue. There was no escape from the inevitable, however, with Finn Surman winning the race to ram home the rebound. Buoyed by their excellent start, the All Whites kept the hammer down as they went in pursuit of more goals. Cacace and Barbarouses combined to present Ben Old with an eleventh minute opening, but his chip arced over the ‘keeper and past the far post. Three minutes later, Cameron Howieson and Elijah Just teamed up to present Cacace with another shooting chance. The fullback’s thunderous drive from the edge of the penalty area flew past Teamotuaitau, only for the post to come to Tahiti’s rescue once again. They scrambled the ball to safety, prompting a Cacace corner which saw Tyler Bindon launch into a spectacular flying volley which Teamotuaitau pawed out of the top right-hand corner – a pity, ‘cause this would have been the goal of the tournament without a shadow of a doubt had it found the net. The All Whites kept on coming, the charging Barbarouses feeding Just on the left. He evaded a challenge before delivering a cross intended for Barbarouses. Teamotuaitau was reading a different script, however – his read, “My ball!” Tim Payne’s tournament ended prematurely in the 22nd minute – the sight of the fullback clutching the back of his thigh suggested a spell on the sidelines was imminent. As the All Whites adjusted to the early change in personnel, Tahiti looked to take full advantage. Tauhiti Keck got the better of Alex Rufer in midfield and immediately spotted Max Crocombe well off his line. The Tahitian midfielder let rip from inside the centre circle, but alas for his team, the ball flew wide of the target. Three minutes later, Crocombe was called upon again, this time dashing out to the edge of his penalty area to prevent Ro’onui Tinirauarii from latching onto Kevin Barbe’s hefty clearance, one prompted by another New Zealand attack which culminated in Waine heading the ball down to allow Howieson to let fly from the edge of the penalty area. Past the post the ball flew, but not by much. Further All Whites pressure followed, Just and Barbarouses working a one-two on the edge of the area before the former delivered a cross just behind the incoming figure of Waine, who saw his 34th minute header denied by Teamotuaitau after Just this got the delivery spot on, accuracy-wise. Unfortunately, the winger had strayed offside in the build-up. Just looked to make amends with a looping header from a deep-struck cross from Bindon soon after, before Rufer and Cacace combined to open the door for Waine, the fullback’s cushioned volley setting up the striker. Before he could pull the trigger, however, Barbe intervened, and shepherded the ball back to Teamotuaitau. The goalkeeper smothered another effort from Just in the 44th minute before two goals in three minutes in first half stoppage time gave the scoreline a more accurate reflection of the All Whites’ dominance of the first forty-five minutes. Howieson pounced on a stray pass and delivered a pinpoint pass into Barbarouses’ stride. His

measured pass invited Waine to pick his spot – top corner, 2-0, his third goal of the tournament. Soon after, Old and Cacace combined on the left, the overlapping fullback getting to the by-line before pulling the ball back into the stride of Barbarouses, who smashed home from ten yards – 3-0, contest over. Waine was denied a clear penalty on the stroke of half-time, referee Veer Singh preferring to blow the half-time whistle rather than administer justice for the foul, but the striker didn’t have too long to wait in the second half before extracting the best kind of revenge. Cacace and Howieson combined on the left via a one-two, with Cacace’s pinpoint cross inviting Waine to pick his spot from point-blank range – 4-0 after 53 minutes, and the All Whites looked to have a fair few more goals in them in this, their best display of the tournament. Within three minutes, Teamotuaitau had denied Old, who fired a shot through a defender’s legs after Howieson had worked an opening with the assistance of Sam Sutton and Just. Referee Singh again turned a blind eye to two clear fouls inflicted upon Waine in the penalty area, Teamotuaitau twice impeding the striker as he looked to exploit a pass from Barbaraouses. This really got the All Whites wound up, with the width of a post denying Barbarouses in the 66th minute as he met Cacace’s corner with a near post header. Another corner from the Kiwi captain saw Max Mata direct a glancing header narrowly past the far post, this set-piece awarded after Teamotuaitau had turned Alex Greive’s shot round the upright, Barbarouses and Sutton having paved the way for the substitute to attempt to score with his first touch. Twenty minutes from time, Just pounced on a Barbe error and surged goalwards, but took one touch too many with just Teamotuaitau to beat, a feat which Barbarouses accomplished two minutes later as the All Whites went nap. A quickly taken free-kick saw Just, Rufer and Old carve open Tahiti’s defence. The last-mentioned pulled the ball back to Greive, whose shot was blocked on the line by Lossec. Barbarouses was following in, however – 5-0, his second of the game. Straight from the kick-off, Tahiti launched a rare attack, Ariiura Labaste buccaneering down the left before delivering a cross which saw fellow substitute Franck Papaura launch into a spectacular overhead kick six yards out from goal. If only he’d connected with the ball … Back came the All Whites, Old denied in the act of shooting by Pothin Poma after Rufer had played him in, while Barbarouses’ bid to complete his hat-trick saw him fire narrowly wide from fifteen yards on receipt of a lovely lay-off from Just. Into the final five minutes, a fabulous flying save from Teamotuaitau prevented Mata from heading home Cacace’s cross from six yards, soon after which Jesse Randall raced past two on the left flank before picking out Greive with a cross. His shot hit the far post and was cleared off the line by Lossec. Teamotuaitau produced three saves in the dying minutes to deny the All Whites a sixth goal, with Randall, Rufer and Greive the disappointed parties. But New Zealand’s 5-0 triumph more than made up for those close calls, and on this showing, Vanuatu will have to produce the greatest performance in their history to prevent the silverware from returning to Aotearoa. Tahiti:                   Teamoutaitau; Tiatia (Aroita, 56), Barbe, Bremond (Heitaa, 79), Lossec (booked, 19); Degrumelle, Poma, Keck, Shan (Labaste, 46); Tehau, Tinirauarii (Papaura, 67) All Whites:         Crocombe; Payne (Smith, 25), Surman, Bindon (booked, 38 (Sutton, 46)), Cacace; Just, Rufer, Howieson (Greive, 67), Old (Randall, 79); Barbarouses, Waine (Mata, 67) Referee:              Veer Singh (Fiji)