New Zealand 2
Tahiti 0
Twenty players, arms linked and bouncing on the spot in the middle of the North Harbour Stadium outer oval chanting "Ole, Ole" told the story.
New Zealand's win over Tahiti in the Oceania final had booked them the trip to Mexico in June for Fifa's Under-17 World Cup.
New Zealand's
third straight finals win over the French Polynesians was no-frills, no-nonsense.
Ahead early and rarely under any pressure in defence, the home team produced their best soccer of the tournament to take the plaudits.
"We wanted to get on top early and make sure we did not concede an early goal," said coach Steve Cain.
"In the second half I thought they were very mature and not at all impulsive as young players can sometimes be. They worked very hard as you can see how many players were struggling with cramp.
"The message we gave them before the game was simple. If we don't concede we go to Mexico. I was that confident we could always score."
The Young All Whites won the early exchange of free kicks. Tahitian captain Rainui Aroita fired his third-minute attempt from just outside the New Zealand penalty area straight at goalkeeper Scott Basalaj. He fumbled the stinging shot but quickly regathered. The third such set play, New Zealand's second, all inside six minutes, broke the deadlock.
From wide on the right, and 40m from the Tahiti goal, Cameron Howieson, with the advantage of a strong wind, fired in a free kick which embarrassingly flew over goalkeeper Heremataarii Hatitio and into his net.
Continuing to make good use of the wind, New Zealand kept pressing, forced five corners and eventually, after Tauhiti Keck had tested Basalaj with a stinging shot from the left, doubled their lead.
From a well-worked move which stretched the visitors on their right, the ball was played to Howieson. He skipped past his marker, drew another and deftly slipped the ball to Tim Payne who controlled well with his first touch, went around the last defender and clinically finished for 2-0.
Shrugging off the difficulty of having to battle into the second-half wind, the Young All Whites continued to make most of the play as they searched for the goal to kill it off.
While the home side created half chances they were also wary of the pace of the Tahitians and needed to retain their defensive composure as the visitors sought to turn the blustery conditions to their advantage.
The solid central defensive pairing of captain Luke Adams, later named player of the tournament, and in particular Reece Lambert, snuffed out any potential danger. They were well-supported by right back Bill Tuiloma while in midfield Payne, Rhys Jordan, Ryan Howlett and Howieson battled manfully. The second half produced few clear scoring chances as the hosts happily ran the clock down to complete their hat-trick over the island nation and turn their thoughts towards the Mexican sun.
