KEY POINTS:
All Whites 3 New Caledonia 0
A record-equalling Shane Smeltz goal - and then a second for good measure - set the All Whites on the road to a deserved victory over New Caledonia in their Oceania Nations Cup clash at North Harbour Stadium last night.
After
a frustrating first half, dominated for long periods by New Zealand but without reward, the hosts needed just four minutes after the break to turn promise into reward.
Smeltz' opening goal, from just the third corner of the match, sparked much-needed life into the game and produced something closer to the brand of football coach Ricki Herbert will be looking for.
The goal came from a 50th-minute set piece - the ball played short by Simon Elliott to Chris James, who crossed perfectly for Smeltz, down low, to head through goalkeeper Michel Hne's hands for the game-breaker.
Fittingly, it enabled Smeltz to equal Keith Nelson's 30-year-old record of scoring in six successive New Zealand internationals.
The second NZ goal came 19 minutes later when substitute Jeremy Christie - two minutes after replacing Duncan Oughton - simply side-footed home a pinpoint left-foot cross from Tony Lochhead.
Smeltz completed yet another international two-goal trick 15 minutes from time - much to the delight of the 7600 on hand to witness it - when Christie and David Mulligan combined in getting the ball to Smeltz on the edge of the penalty area. He made no mistake in beating Hne at his post.
In constantly pushing fullbacks Lochhead and Mulligan forward to ensure utter midfield domination, the All Whites secured a lion's share of the middle-of-the park possession. Too often, though, particularly in the first spell, that well-won ball produced little going forward.
Smeltz and Jarrod Smith received little ball of workable quality and struggled for clear-cut scoring chances.
Midfield dynamo James ran tirelessly in supporting his front-runners but his endeavours too largely went unrewarded.
He deserved better in turning in what might have been a man-of-the-match effort and a huge step-up from his last outings at the Oceania under-20 tournament a couple of years ago.
Conversely, the visitors showed their intentions from the outset, leaving a sole striker to try to unlock the All Whites' centre-back pairing of Ryan Nelsen and Ben Sigmund. It was never going to happen. The New Caledonian heavily-packed defensive structure ensured there would be no easy path to their goal.
New Caledonia's only scoring chance came in the 16th minute when a long-range freekick rattled the crossbar.
With 56 per cent of the first-half possession, the All Whites should have had something to show. It was not through the lack of trying - they created 11 scoring opportunities with a handful of those from close range.
The game again underlined the need for Herbert to have his best players available for such matches.
With planning now aimed at the Confederations Cup and beyond World Cup qualifying, anything but the best in key contests will not be good enough.
He needs to build on what his players gave him in the second 45 minutes last night.
Much to their disappointment the goals, initially, did not come but when they did, the floodgates opened and the faithful left happy.
