New Zealand will play Tonga in the final of the Oceania Under-20 Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in Apia on Saturday, after surviving scorching 36C temperatures to overcome Papua New Guinea 5-1 in their semi-final at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Football Complex on Thursday. Tonga, meanwhile, set up their third clash with the Kiwis in twenty-four days by coming from behind to down host nation Samoa 3-2 in a thrilling semi-final, played in far more temperate conditions than those faced by the New Zealand squad, and in front of over four hundred spectators. Papua New Guinea provided the New Zealand defensive unit with their toughest examination so far early on, and exposed a couple of chinks in the process. Indeed, it was PNG who enjoyed the first chance of the match, Ashleigh Cox racing off her line to thwart the charging Jennifer Leo, making her first start of the tournament for the Kiwis' semi-final opponents. New Zealand responded by opening the scoring in the sixth minute. Ria Percival - what a tournament she's having! - scampered down the right and pinged a deep cross from the by-line to the far post, which Caitlin Campbell met with her head. Somehow, PNG 'keeper Matilda Tomalin let the ball through her hands, and it squeezed in by the post to give the Kiwis the lead. They held it for all of a minute. Straight from the kick-off, Leo chased what seemed a lost cause, but it proved a worthwhile venture for her, as Cox, coming out of goal to clear the danger, executed an air-shot to gift the PNG striker the equaliser. Unperturbed, New Zealand simply stormed downfield and regained the lead in the ninth minute. Renee Leota fed Annalie Longo, who played a slide-rule inside the full-back for Campbell to surge onto. The striker checked inside an opponent before finishing unerringly from twelve yards out - 2-1 to the Kiwis, who swiftly sought a third goal. Kirsty Yallop played the ball through for Leota, who touched it back to reward Percival's supporting run. Her cross picked out Longo, but the fourteen-year-old was unable to direct her header wide of Tomalin, who gleefully grabbed the ball, and launched a counter-attack which culminated in Leo lashing a shot at Cox, who gratefully clutched this effort. Back came New Zealand, Yallop feeding the overlapping Percival once more. Her cross saw Campbell beat Tomalin in the air, but the striker was unable to steer her shot on the turn inside the far post. Cue another Leo-led raid from PNG - all this action came inside the first fifteen minutes! Cox raced off her line once more, and this time, did the business, one of the last occasions she found herself involved in the match. Because in the eighteenth minute, New Zealand scored a third goal which left the ascent of nearby Mt Vaea to visit the grave of Robert Louis Stevenson mere child's play compared to the task with which Papua New Guinea were now faced. Emma Humphries had taken note of what had happened with a series of wayward goal-kicks by Cathy Samson, and when the PNG defender stepped up to take the next one, the wily striker positioned herself perfectly, some twenty-five yards out from goal. The ball came straight to her, allowing Humphries to power into the penalty area past two opponents before rolling the ball across to Campbell for a tap-in - 3-1, and an eighteen minute hat-trick for the fifteen-year-old. At this, PNG employed an offside trap routine, of which New Zealand often fell foul. It took them the best part of fifteen minutes to get their co-ordination right, during which time just one noteworthy effort on goal was recorded, the tireless Katie Hoyle combining with Campbell to present Longo with a shooting chance which was smothered by Tomalin. In the 34th minute, the Kiwis finally got the mix right in timing their runs to latch onto angled passes. Longo slipped Campbell through the offside trap, but she shot straight at Tomalin when the opportunity presented itself, a feat she repeated five minutes later, after Petria Rennie had picked her out with her first touch. In between times, the Papuans had gone close to reducing the deficit, Jacqueline Chalau slipping Leo through once more. Cox came off her line, but hurtling back to save the day was Abby Erceg, who got in between the striker and the goalkeeper before extinguishing the threat and, with it, any hopes PNG still harboured of making Saturday's final. For five minutes before half-time, New Zealand stormed to a 4-1 lead, courtesy Yallop. She galloped through from half-way as the PNG offside trap failed to function, lured Tomalin out of goal and coolly clipped her sixth strike of the tournament over the 'keeper mere milliseconds before the pair collided, with the goalkeeper suffering a game-ending injury. It meant Linda Bunaga was given her first run-out of the tournament, and the new glove-wearer quickly found herself in the firing line. Erceg surged out of defence in the 44th minute and threaded a ball through to Longo, whose shot gave Bunaga a taste of the onslaught to which she was to be subjected in the second spell.

Caitlin Campbell completes her hat-trick Annalie Longo lets fly Helen Collins in full flight Ali Riley on manoeuvres Abby Erceg climbs high for a header Katie Hoyle evades a challenge Julia Baldwin heads over the bar

Despite the energy-sapping heat, New Zealand fired no fewer than thirty-six shots at goal in the second half, nineteen of them on target. Yet incredibly, the scoreboard altered just once - in injury time. It was one-way traffic, and how the Kiwis failed to do justice to their creativity in terms of goals on the board remains a mystery. So much of their approach play was straight from the text-book, but one can only thing there was the Papuan equivalent of a tapu on the goal they were defending in the second spell, because try as they might, New Zealand just couldn't score. Ali Riley came into her own in the second spell, and was involved just two minutes in, upon receipt of a pass from Yallop. She had plenty to do, but battled her way to the byline before crossing for Humphries, whose shot was blocked on the line. Substitute Cecilia Dobbin cleared the threat on this occasion, but there were plenty more where that came from. Bunaga tipped a Campbell drive over the bar; Humphries lashed a twenty-yard screamer literally an inch over the bar; crude defending thwarted New Zealand's strikers on a handful of other occasions, with referee Tetua Paul Haiti finally taking some action in the 55th minute, having earlier booked Yallop for kicking the ball away when New Zealand's captain hadn't heard his whistle blow for a foul. In the 57th minute, Hoyle released Campbell down the left, and she whipped in a cross intended for Longo. Samson stepped in, but Humphries pounced on the rebound, only for Bunaga to paw the ball to safety. After Humphries had skied an opportunity from eight yards out presented to her on a plate by Riley, Hoyle sent the American-based newcomer racing through with a splendid pass. Bunaga raced off her line to thwart Riley, who recovered possession to reward Campbell's supporting run. With the better-placed Yallop inside her, the youngster went for the glory shot - they're still looking for the ball in Tuanaimato! In the 65th minute, Percival and Campbell played a slick one-two which resulted in the former beating Bunaga all ends up with her cross. Riley, racing in on the far post, didn't quite have enough space available to turn the ball home this time round. Substitute Helen Collins, on for Yallop, rattled the same sidenetting with her first touch seconds later, then stung the gloves of Bunaga after Rennie and Riley had rampaged down the right at pace. Collins and Longo both went close in the next two minutes, before Rennie and Riley taunted the Papuan left flank once more, in the 71st minute. The latter picked out Collins with her cross, and the striker held off a challenge before again finding the sidenetting. The 2005 Northern Premier Women's League Golden Boot winner must be wondering if she's walked under a ladder, because in the 73rd minute, Longo put her through with a peach of a pass, only for Bunaga to parry Collins' effort to safety. The striker then played a neat one-two with Longo following a free-kick from acting captain Hoyle, only to direct this 79th minute opportunity over, rather than under, the bar. With New Zealand's third captain of the match, Hannah Rishworth, now on for Hoyle - a deserved rest for a player who, up until ten minutes from time, had played every minute of this tournament - the Kiwis kept pressing relentlessly. Campbell and Percival combined on the left, the latter's cross being headed at Bunaga by Longo. Erceg then sent Collins racing through from half-way - surely now she would break her duck in this match. She did everything right, but the sight of the ball creeping past the post with Bunaga beaten brought a despairing groan from the frustrated substitute. New Zealand continued to pound away, with Humphries twice going close before they finally gained reward in stoppage time. Another poor goal-kick was anticipated by Humphries, who fed Collins once more. The striker played the ball across to Riley, who fair buried the ball beyond Bunaga to maintain her goal-a-game average at this tournament. A late strike from Leo was ruled out for a foul by the striker on Julia Baldwin, but the game was well over as a contest by this time - had it been a boxing match, the referee would have had to stop the fight, such was the pummelling New Zealand were handing their well-beaten opponents, a team considered to be the Kiwis' biggest threat going into this tournament. Coach John Herdman couldn't hide his delight come the final whistle, and who could blame him? "I'm very proud of the girls. It's four down, one to go, and with no injuries at the moment, we'll just keep moving on. "Caitlin Campbell was magic - she showed great composure in front of goal, although she could have had a double hat-trick in the first half alone. What can you say about a fifteen-year-old scoring three times in a World Cup qualifying semi-final? That's Roy of the Rovers stuff, that!!" New Zealand:  Cox; Percival, Baldwin, Erceg, Riley; Hoyle (Rishworth, 80), Yallop (booked, 30) (Collins, 64), Longo; Leota (Rennie, 38), Humphries, Campbell Papua New Guinea:  Tomalin (Bunaga, 42); Belei, Samson, Mark, T. Dobbin (C. Dobbin, 27); Eno (Muta, 51), Chalau, Turakaur, Winas; Leo, Limbai Referee:  Tetua Paul Haiti