The All Whites won their sixth OFC Nations Cup on June 30, holding off a spirited Vanuatu side 3-0 in the final, which saw 10,000 Vanuatuans pile into Port Vila's Freshwater Stadium as the host nation contested their maiden final in this competition. The vocal locals began the match in buoyant mood, hoping to see their team prevail in this showpiece fixture. But within two minutes, they had been silenced by the All Whites, who, not for the first time in this tournament, scored an early goal to take command of the contest. This time, they scored after 100 seconds, just twenty seconds after Liberato Cacace, Elijah Just and Ben Old had combined on the left to create an opening for Ben Waine, only for Vanuatu goalkeeper James Iamar to grab the ball before the striker could head it home. Iamar bowled the ball out to Brian Kaltak, whose pass was pounced on by Old. He played the ball across to Costa Barbarouses, whose shot was blocked. But the rebound sat up perfectly for Cameron Howieson, whose fulminating fifteen-yard volley screamed into the far corner of the net before Iamar could even react - a fabulous strike, well worthy of the occasion. Buoyed by the early goal, the All Whites swiftly went after another one, Sam Sutton and Barbarouses combining to present Old with a fourth minute opening which he thundered narrowly over the bar from just inside the area. Vanuatu looked to get back into the contest after living their worst nightmare - an early goal against - but found themselves up against opponents who cherished possession and were quite content to be patient and wait for the right opening to materialise, while being a constant threat attack-wise as well. In short, 'twas a fine display of game control by the Kiwis, who proved themselves a class above all their Oceania rivals in this well-contested tournament. On the quarter-hour, Waine went close to doubling New Zealand's lead. Cacace picked him out with a corner, the striker's goalbound header being blocked by Jared Clark, who looked around to see Iamar grabbing the sphere to prevent a second goal. Five minutes later, Max Crocombe was called upon for the first time, punching a John Alick free-kick to safety. This and a hurried clearance four minutes before the interval - Sutton's back-pass was under-hit, which gave Vanuatu a sniff of an equaliser - were his only contributions to proceedings in the first half, as most of the action took place at the other end of the park. On the half-hour, Clark again came to Vanuatu's rescue, his vital header preventing Just's curling shot from finding the far corner of the net. Soon after, some lovely skill by Old saw him do Timothy Boulet a treat before fizzing a cross across the face of goal, just beyond the incoming figure of Barbarouses. The All Whites quickly regained possession through Howieson. Just took over from the midfielder and invited Cacace to let fly, drawing a save at his near post by Iamar eleven minutes from time. Before the break, Just produced a delightful piece of control which was supplemented by a round-the-corner pass into the stride of Howieson, racing into the penalty area on the left. His low cross fizzed just behind Waine - another chance spurned in his pursuit of the tournament's Golden Boot, with Fiji's Roy Krishna leading that particular chart. The half-time team-talk in the Vanuatu dressing room must have been interesting, to put it mildly! There seemed to be plenty of red mist in evidence early in the second spell, and sadly, referee Ben Aukwai wasn't up to addressing it in the manner which he should have done. Cacace, later named the winner of the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament, was the subject of plenty of attention from his opponents, not all of it legal and above board. The "challenge" to which he was subjected by John Wohale five minutes into the second half was, frankly, borderline assault! It was wild west stuff from a player who'd already been booked, yet the referee didn't even call the foul! The daft thing was, Vanuatu didn't need to lose the

plot. They were trailing by a solitary goal, and an equaliser was well within their capabilities. Once Kensi Tangis came on, they looked a good bet to get it, too, the substitute inspiring the locals to their best spell of the match halfway through the second half. Before he entered the fray, however, the All Whites were well in command. Cacace played a 57th minute corner short to Old, who looked to pick out Waine on the far post with his cross. Alas for the striker, he lost sight of the ball in the setting sun, so couldn't convert the opening. Just saw a shot blocked by the massed ranks of Vanuatu's rearguard soon after, before Cacace produced some lovely skill to send Johnathan Spokeyjack for an Echo before releasing Old down the left. Sutton was the beneficiary of his cross this time, but he produced a defender's finish - 1-0 it remained. After Rufer had won the ball in midfield on the hour, he picked out Waine with a pass, but the close attentions of Jason Thomas forced him to shoot wide. Cue Tangis, who revitalised Vanuatu's hopes by taking the game to New Zealand - it was a real "Follow me!" performance from the veteran. Tangis' promptings saw Alick unleash a cross-shot which Crocombe grabbed in the seventieth minute, the goalkeeper having to race off his line sixty seconds later to prevent Spokeyjack from latching onto Tangis' through ball. Just as they were getting on top in the contest, the red mist descended on a couple of Vanuatu players, and this time, there were repercussions. Boulet went in late on Old in the 73rd minute, and as Rufer started to protest - the referee hadn't blown for a free-kick, the All Whites' midfield metronome was shoved to the ground by Clark. Both offenders had already been booked, and after consulting with his assistant and the fourth official, Boulet was shown a second yellow card, followed by the dreaded red one - off he trudged. Clark should have followed him, but was only spoken to by Mr Aukwai, who really wasn't up to the standard of officiating required for a match of this calibre. Despite being reduced to ten men, Vanuatu kept pressing for an equaliser, but after Finn Surman and Tommy Smith combined to shut down Tangis in the penalty area in the 82nd minute, the All Whites launched a counter-attack which sealed Vanuatu's fate. Rufer led the charge before picking out Alex Greive. He spread play wide into the space Boulet had occupied, but which now gave Old yards aplenty in which to work. His cross was flicked on by Barbarouses to Jesse Randall, who rifled a shot on the turn into the far corner of the net from eight yards - 2-0. The offside flag denied Barbarouses a third goal in the 89th minute, to which Vanuatu responded through Joe Moses, who dragged his shot across the face of goal after blocking a Howieson clearance. Back came the All Whites, this time with a title-clinching third goal. Howieson picked out Randall, who worked a one-two with Cacace before touching the ball inside to fellow substitute Max Mata. He rammed the ball home from six yards to wrap up New Zealand's 3-0 victory, which secured them the OFC Nations Cup for a record sixth time. To their eternal credit, Vanuatu never gave up, and came within a whisker of scoring with the last kick of the game. Tangis - fittingly - let fly from thirty yards, having spotted Golden Glove winner Crocombe off his line, and his angled drive flew inches past the far post. But their indiscipline was their downfall, as the All Whites retained their regional crown without conceding a goal during the tournament. Vanuatu:     Iamar; Boulet (booked, 53, 75 - sent off), Thomas, Kaltak, Jeffrey (Iawak, 65); Spokeyjack, Clark (booked, 65 (Aru, 81)), Alick (Worworbu, 90), Tenene; Wohale (booked, 37 (Moses, 81)), Saniel (Tangis, 65) All Whites:     Crocombe; Sutton (Smith, 73), Surman, Bindon (booked, 68 (Kelly-Heald, 88)), Cacace; Just (Greive, 82), Rufer, Howieson, Old (Mata, 88); Barbarouses, Waine (Randall, 83) Referee:     Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)