Tahiti's Tauhiti Keck New Zealand's Tyler Bindon. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Photosport
New Zealand claimed their sixth OFC Nations Cup on Sunday, beating hosts Vanuatu 3-0.
It was Vanuatu's first-ever OFC Nations Cup final and around 10,000 fans came to VFF Freshwater Stadium, while others grabbed viewpoints on rooftops and cars.
The locals had been singing, cheering and dancing long before kick-off, but the All Whites' Cam Howieson sucked the air out of the stadium within two minutes - a volley from the edge of the box hitting the net before goalkeeper James Iamar could move.
Vanuatu started dominating possession, but the New Zealand defence remained largely untroubled and goalkeeper Max Crocombe only had to make one punching clearance in the first half.
OFC reported the match increasingly turned into a midfield scrap on a bumpy pitch without many clear-cut changes.
Late in the second half, Vanuatu's Timothy Boulet received a second yellow card, taking the team down to 10 men.
All Whites substitute Jesse Randall latched onto a loose ball in the Vanuatu box in the 83rd minute to claim his first international goal.
Another substitute, Max Mata, added New Zealand's third in stoppage time.
All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said the pitch made it difficult to play a certain way but he thought "we were pretty good again".
"We scored an early goal and maybe thought we could go on and do well there from that moment, but we came up against a team full of heart in Vanuatu."
Meanwhile, in the third-place playoff, Tahiti beat Fiji 2-1.
Fiji had taken the lead with a Roy Krishna goal in the 53rd minute.
But Tahiti's skipper Teaonui Tehau struck twice, in the 72nd and then 83rd minute, to give Tahiti their first victory over Fiji in 13 years.
Results
OFC Men's Nations Cup final
New Zealand 3 (Cam Howieson 2', Jesse Randall 83', Max Mata 90+3')
Vanuatu 0
OFC Men's Nations Cup third-place
Tahiti 2 (Teaonui Tehau 72', 83')
Fiji 1 (Roy Krishna 58')
