New Zealand downed the holders and tournament favourites, Australia, 1-0 at Ericsson Stadium on July 14 to win the Oceania Nations Cup for the second time, and secure a spot at the 2003 Confederations Cup Finals, which will almost certainly take place in France next June. The victory was a fitting reward for the well-prepared All Whites squad, each of whom will benefit from a share of the guaranteed $US 1m which New Zealand Soccer will receive as a result of qualifying for one of FIFA’s premier tournaments. How Soccer Australia could do with that money. Instead, such is the parlous financial state of the game across the Tasman Sea that there is talk that the Socceroos may not be sighted on the international stage until the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign commences - difficult to conceive, given the progress Australia has made on the world stage in recent years, but something which isn’t out of the question in the circumstances. This Oceania final was about a lot more than money, however. The sporting rivalry between New Zealand and Australia goes back many years, and with New Zealand’s All Blacks having downed Australia’s Wallabies the previous evening in the oval ball code, this match marked a chance for the locals to match their counterparts’ achievements by defeating their arch-rivals, this time in the game the world plays. The All Whites ultimately didn’t disappoint, although during the early stages of the match, their nerves were clearly evident to the 6000-strong crowd. Scott Chipperfield was their prime nemesis, the only European-based player in Australia’s squad afforded the space to run at the All Whites, an option which exposed the defensive limitations of the attack-minded 4-3-3 formation which New Zealand employed throughout the tournament. His initial burst, in the ninth minute, resulted in a cross from Damian Mori which picked out Joel Porter arriving unmarked on the far post. With the goal at his mercy, the striker drove his shot straight at the diving Batty, and while the striker was able to gather the rebound, the All Whites eventually cleared the danger. Five minutes later, another Chipperfield surge saw some role reversal taking place in the Socceroos’ attack, with Porter the supplier of a cross on this occasion, Mori the target. He got nowhere near it, however, as the towering presence of Ryan Nelsen mopped up with the minimum of fuss. Seconds later, Chipperfield fed Porter on the left once more, the striker opting for a cross-shot on this occasion. His effort sizzled across the face of goal, which signalled the end of Australia’s early dominance. Having weathered the storm, the All Whites began to play a bit - cautiously at first, then gradually coming into their own as their confidence grew. A Simon Elliott free-kick to the far post in the 34th minute prompted an Ivan Vicelich header, New Zealand’s first noteworthy attacking effort of the match. It went wide, but served as an appetiser for the next All Whites’ raid, sixty seconds later. Mark Burton fired in a cross from the left wing which saw Chris Killen get the better of Patrick Kisnorbo, only for Jason Petkovic to dive at the striker’s feet and thwart the danger. Back came the Socceroos, and right on half-time, the lively figure of Porter cut a swathe down the New Zealand right past two defenders. Into the box he strode, but he crashed to the ground almost instantly, a rock-solid block tackle from Nelsen stopping the striker dead in his tracks. Porter claimed a penalty, but Tahitian referee Charles Ariiotima wasn’t having any of it at the end of a half in which the Socceroos committed twice

as many fouls as their opponents, numbers which got worse in the second half - the Socceroos’ spoiling tactics were one of the detracting features of this final, as was the match official’s display, particularly in the second spell. Mr Ariiotima set the tone for this just two minutes after the resumption, ruling Vicelich had infringed when going down under the challenge of two Australian players in the penalty area - video evidence suggested otherwise. Things were to get worse for the All Whites in this regard, the referee, on two other occasions, seemingly intent on denying the host nation a penalty, much to the disbelief of the crowd and the players most affected, Killen and Aaran Lines. Indeed, the latter was particularly hard done by, for having been in full flight when entering the penalty area nine minutes from time, Lines was clearly felled by Mehmed Durakovic. When he picked himself up, he found he was being booked for simulation!! There were a number of other interpretations made by the official which had the crowd up in arms, including a lop-sided booking count which didn’t reflect the foul count by any means. Nonetheless, the All Whites got on with the job, and after Petkovic had punched a Lines corner off Vicelich’s head, they had to change their goalkeeper. Batty strained his quad as he raced off his line to deny Jade North in the 54th minute, and James Bannatyne soon got the call to take over between the sticks. He was soon called into action, watching anxiously as a deceptive, low Mori free-kick arced round the wall and inches past his left-hand upright in the 64th minute, then tipping over a rasping Mori drive fifteen minutes from time, before giving captain Chris Zoricich a nasty cut near his left eye as he collected his team-mate in coming to gather a cross as Australia pressed again. By this stage, however, the cup holders’ grip on the trophy was slipping. One of the All Whites’ strengths at this tournament has been their set-play work, and after Elliott fired a seventieth minute free-kick around the wall and over Petkovic’s crossbar, the host nation broke their arch-rivals’ hearts with the 79th minute winner. The Socceroos’ defence failed to learn from the mistake they made which almost saw them beaten by Tahiti in the semi-final. On that occasion, the Tahitian goal came about as a result of defenders simply ball-watching ... who said lightning never strikes twice? Lines whipped in the free-kick from the right, and the Socceroos’ rearguard stood and looked. They continued to look at the ball, and saw it arrive inside their goal area, about four yards out. At that point, they saw Nelsen arriving at the same place, and proceeded to watch in horror as the All White defender hammered the ball into the roof of the net to send the crowd crazy!! It was a blow from which Australia never recovered, and by the full-time whistle, they could easily have trailed by an even greater margin, the efforts of Elliott and Vicelich going either side of Petkovic’s posts in the dying minutes. One goal was all New Zealand needed, however, and the sound of the final whistle was music to the ears of the squad, New Zealand Soccer and the New Zealand soccer public - those at the ground, and those watching around the country on television. Their team had done them proud. Hail the All Whites - the new kings of Oceania. New Zealand:     Batty (Bannatyne, 58); Oughton, Zoricich (booked, 63), Nelsen, Davis; Jackson (booked, 41), Elliott, Vicelich (booked, 19); Burton, Killen, Lines (booked, 81) Australia:            Petkovic; Durakovic, Horvat, Kisnorbo; North (Pondeljak, 82), Costanzo, Juric, Chipperfield (booked, 38), de Amicis (booked, 69) (Middleby, 82); Mori, Porter (Despotovski, 73) Referee:              Charles Ariiotima (Tahiti)