Soccer: All Whites draw with Solomons

Chris Wood scored the All Whites only goal in their 1-1 draw with the Solomon Islands.

New Zealand 1
Solomon Islands 1

The All Whites will tackle New Caledonia in Friday's semifinal of the Oceania Nations Cup in what will be a tricky assignment.

But as Ricki Herbert's side are learning in Honiara, all matches in this tournament are tricky. Even though they topped their group after today's 1-1 draw with the Solomon Islands, they have come under immense pressure in all three games and anything could happen against the Pacific Games champions on Friday.

They will at least be able to go into that match relatively fresh after Herbert rested most of his first-choice side today _ Ivan Vicelich, Shane Smeltz, Ben Sigmund, Chris Killen and Michael McGlinchey didn't even suit up _ but the island teams truly believe they can beat New Zealand. That hasn't always been the case.

"They didn't play with all their key players and we protected some, too, but now it's important to understand that New Zealand players are two legs, two arms, a body, a head like us,'' Solomons technical director Laurent Papillon said. "It's important for us to get a result like this.''

It didn't really matter what happened in today's match, especially after Papua New Guinea earned a 1-1 draw with Fiji in the early game. It guaranteed the Solomon's passage through to the semifinals, where they will meet Tahiti, and it didn't take long for the car horns to start bleating and fans to dance in the stands and on the steep bank.

"I want to thank Papua New Guinea becauuse we could play without pressure in that game,'' Papillon said.

Most of today's All Whites side were hoping to put pressure on to stake a claim for a spot against New Caledonia but it's hard to see Herbert deviating much from his formula.

Today's match followed much the same template as their first two. New Zealand scored early through Chris Wood when he chested down and volleyed a Leo Bertos cross in the 14th minute, had a handful of decent chances to extend the advantage and then came under the kosh.

Benjamin Totori, who has played extensively in New Zealand, lashed in a 57th minute equaliser that was the least the Solomon Islands deserved and they pressed for a winner that would have brought their first victory over New Zealand.

As it was, they achieved their first draw and this result will be up with their 2-2 draw with Australia as one of the best in their history.

Almost everything New Zealand did well in the attacking third came through Bertos, who made a number of tasty crosses that could have netted at least another couple of goals as chances fell to Rory Fallon and Tim Payne.

It might have put a totally different complexion on the match and New Zealand will still be confident of their chances in this tournament.

"Perhaps if we had had a [Shane] Smeltz today, I think he might have taken a couple of those early chances,'' Herbert said. "I thought it was a good, honest, tough effort against a very good side.

"I am really pleased. We exposed a brand new team today against arguably, I think, the toughest team in the competition. It was great for them to get that level of exposure and, at times, it was really tough for them.''

The All Whites didn't see much possession in the second half as the Solomons attacked relentlessly.

They play an entertaining style of football, like most island teams, with quick movement of both ball and feet and most expected them to progress to the final against New Zealand.

Too often, however, they tried to walk the ball into the net rather than letting fly with a shot and the inability to finish is a criticism that could be levelled at most of the island sides.

"These are the important games now,'' Herbert said. "It's down to finals football. It's a tough, even tournament and we are certainly going to have to be at our best. Hopefully our players will be fresh on Friday because we are going to need them.''

New Zealand 1 (Chris Wood 14) Solomon Islands 1 (Benjamin Totori 57). HT: 1-0.