New Zealand's Football Ferns convincingly confirmed their status as the Oceania Football Confederation's foremost women's footballing nation on 1 December, winning their fourth consecutive OFC Women's Nations Cup title which had with it, this year, quite a decent prize pack. A place in both the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in France and the 2020 Olympic Women's Football Tournament in Tokyo is the Football Ferns' reward for thrashing an overly physical Fiji team 8-0 at Noumea's Stade Numa Daly, with the beaten side reduced to ten players just before half-time thanks to the dismissal of Cema Nasau. The Fijians found themselves a goal down inside the first sixty seconds. Rebekah Stott, Katie Bowen and Sarah Gregorius made in-roads down the right, with the last-mentioned delivering a cross which Jotivini Tabua cleared against Rosie White, off whom the ball looped and arced into the net past a shell-shocked Adi Tuwai. Fiji's goalkeeper, later named winner of the Golden Glove award as the tournament's best goalkeeper, was fishing the ball out of her net again five minutes later, Gregorius doing the honours from the penalty spot after she had been needlessly felled by Sonali Rao. Only a fine save by Tuwai prevented Ria Percival from making it 3-0 in the twelfth minute. White flighted a lovely free-kick to the far post where New Zealand's most capped player ever ghosted in and met the ball with a cushioned volley. The Fijians continued to concede fouls with great regularity, but mixed in with these were vital challenges such as that in the 23rd minute, when Naomi Waganidrola's timely tackle prevented Ali Riley from working a one-two on the left. The speedy Nasau offered Fiji's principle attacking threat, and it was her raid sixty seconds later which saw the Football Ferns' goal come under a rare threat in this tournament. Stott's timely challenge largely averted the danger, although Nasau was still able to unleash a shot which went past Erin Nayler's left-hand upright. Normal service soon resumed, with Tuwai hurtling out of goal to save at the feet of Golden Boot co-winner Gregorius on the half-hour - she shared the honour with Papua New Guinea's Meagen Gunemba. Rao was fortunate not to concede another penalty soon after when her lunging attempt to clear only just avoided collecting Annalie Longo in the process. But after Katie Rood had wriggled through a couple of challenges and fired narrowly over from twenty yards, the Football Ferns scored their third goal. White's 38th minute corner was cleared to Stott, whose shot was blocked by Waganidrola, who could only look on as the competition's Golden Ball winner, Betsy Hassett, unleashed a dipping twenty-five yard drive which beat Tuwai all ends up. Nasau's second bookable offence of the afternoon followed - she scythed down Percival which left the victim sporting a moonboot after half-time - and her dismissal five minutes before the break immediately prompted the Football Ferns to step up their quest to make their numerical superiority count on the scoreboard. White fizzed a free-kick narrowly past the post before Gregorius' cross on the run for Hassett saw the midfielder thwarted by the combined efforts of Tuwai and Koleta Likuculacula, at the expense of a corner. From which the Football Ferns scored their fourth

goal. White's delivery arced beyond the far post to Percival, whose last act of the match saw her head the ball into the goalmouth where Meikayla Moore was on hand to squeeze the ball home. Percival's replacement was swiftly brought into play at the start of the second spell. Hassett sprayed the ball wide to Sarah Morton, whose cross-shot was turned round the post by Tuwai. From the resulting corner, Tuwai did well to keep out a twenty-yarder from Bowen, but New Zealand's fifth goal was just seconds away. Hassett and White combined to release Rood, who checked inside before beating Tuwai all ends up at her near post. Fiji's goalkeeper gained revenge when keeping out another effort from Rood soon after, but was rescued by Waganidrola's goal-line clearance in the 52nd minute after Longo's steepling cross had seen White beat Tuwai in the air. The goalkeeper and the former Oceania Women's Player of the Year were having quite a personal duel during this period, Tuwai denying White as the latter moved in to turn home a cross from Gregorius in the 53rd minute. Riley then picked out Gregorius with a fine pass which the speedster took on in her stride before battering a volley past the approaching figure of Tuwai. It also went past the far post, unlike New Zealand's 56th minute raid, which saw Hassett, Gregorius and Morton combine on the right, with the first-mentioned tucking home expertly - 6-0. There was no respite for Fiji, with Rood, Gregorius and Bowen foiled by Tuwai during the course of the next ten minutes, while Likuculacula came to her 'keeper's rescue in this spell when foiling a menacing cross from Morton. Morton and Hassett worked a one-two on the right nineteen minutes from time, with Gregorius the ultimate beneficiary. Her cross picked out White, whose whipped header was grabbed under the bar by Tuwai. Bowen and Morton linked up four minutes later, with the substitute's hanging cross inviting White to unleash another header. This one looped over Tuwai but hit the crossbar, with Gregorius dashing in to head home the rebound before the goalkeeper could recover. Unfortunately for Fiji, she failed to do so in the aftermath of the goal, which brought a premature end to her evening and a cameo appearance from Anseini Maucuna, who didn't let the opportunity pass her by, impressing with a string of saves to thwart White, Longo and Gregorius in quick succession. The newcomer was beaten twice, however, initially by Morton - the crossbar came to Fiji's rescue, and ultimately by White, who richly deserved her second goal, one she thrashed through a defender's legs and the hands of Maucuna upon receipt of Longo's stoppage time pass. Eight was enough for the Football Ferns as they confirmed a sixth Oceania Women's Nations Cup triumph, this one with the tantalising rewards of places at both the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals and the Olympic Women's Football Tournament. Fiji:          Tuwai (Maucuna, 77); Diyalowai, Rao, Waganidrola, Ranadi; Tabua, Riwai, Likuculacula; Davis, Tamanitoakula, Nasau (booked, 16, 40 - sent off) F'ball Ferns:     Nayler; Bowen, Stott, Moore (Green, 74), Riley; Hassett, Percival (Morton, 46), Longo; Gregorius, White, Rood (Satchell, 69) Referee:     Tapaita Lelenga (Tonga)