New Zealand went on another scoring spree at the Oceania region Olympic qualifying tournament, thumping American Samoa 11-0 at North Harbour Stadium last night.
After opening group B of the qualifying series with a 9-0 win over the Cook Islands, the home side were at it again, striker Shane Smeltz benefitingwith five goals.
Lincoln City's Allan Pearce scored a first-half hat-trick, helping New Zealand to a 6-0 lead at halftime.
Adelaide United striker Smeltz, who was in the All Whites' Confederation Cup squad, scored four of his five goals in the space of 17 minutes midway through the second half.
In warm, humid conditions, the hapless American Samoans obviously tired and dropped numbers back in defence. Other goals went to David Mulligan, Jarrod Smith and Rupesh Puna.
Coach Ricki Herbert admitted the game provided only a limited test of his side.
"I was bitterly disappointed with the attitude of the opposition, but I accept I can't control that," Herbert said.
"If they are going to come to these tournaments and learn, they must at least make an attempt to compete.
"I could only sympathise with my players in what was little more than a training exercise.
"The irony is that in some ways it made it very hard for us with so much time in possession and an opposition that were content only in getting bodies behind the ball.
"From a physiological point of view, another 90 minutes under the belts and a hit-out for the entire squad after two games is a positive."
It was a mismatch of proportions not seen since a little fella took on Goliath, only on this occasion the American Samoans forgot to pack a slingshot. Not that it would have done them any good.
Captain Steven Old picked up a hip injury in the warm-up and was a late withdrawal from the side. He will be monitored over the next 24 hours, but is unlikely to be involved in their next game, against Tonga tomorrow.
The Tongans struggled last night against New Zealand's main group rivals, Vanuatu, going down 6-0 in the late game.
In their first appearance of the series, Vanuatu raced to a 3-0 lead after 12 minutes to secure the result, with striker Jean Maleb finishing with a hat-trick.
The goals also flowed across the Tasman, with Australia notching their second big group A win, 9-0 over Papua New Guinea in Sydney.
