New Zealand cruised through group play and clinched advancement to round three after its second match while the Solomon Islands utilized its home advantage to take second place over Fiji. Both these nations were eliminated in the semifinals, New Zealand shocked by New Caledonia and Solomon Islands to eventual champions Tahiti. Luckily for these two, those results have no bearing on World Cup qualifying. Here are the results of group play.
New Zealand 1 Fiji 0
An early 11th minute goal from Tommy Smith was all New Zealand needed to edge by Fiji in the opening group B match. While far from a dominating performance, the Kiwis managed to procure the three points while controlling most of the match.
Solomon Islands 1 Papua New Guinea 0
Benjamin Totori struck in the fifth minute for the lone goal of the contest that saw the hosts get off to a positive start. Papua New Guinea put in a solid performance for a nation of its caliber, but were not able to carve out enough dangerous chances.
New Zealand 2 Papua New Guinea 1
The Kiwis clinched advancement to the third round of qualifying with a 2-1 victory over Papua New Guinea. Once again, New Zealand controlled much of the match and struck for its first goal in just the second minute through the great Shane Smeltz. Chris Wood doubled his side's advantage only a few minutes into the second half. With a minute left to go in the match Papua New Guinea pulled a goal back thanks to a successful penalty conversion by Niel Hans, but it was too little too late. The loss also eliminated Papua New Guinea from contention.
Fiji 0 Solomon Islands 0
In the most critical group B encounter, neither Fiji nor Solomon Islands could find a breakthrough and had to settle for a scoreless draw. The tie benefited the Solomon Islands more, since they already had earned a victory and now had the advantage of playing an already qualified New Zealand side in its final group match.
Fiji 1 Papua New Guinea 1
Papua New Guinea earned its first point of the competition and in the process ruined Fiji's chances of progression to the third round. Maciu Dunadamu had given his side hope with a goal in the 13th minute, but Fiji could not hold the lead and conceded a late 85th goal to Kema Jack. In the end victory still would not have been enough for Fiji based on the other result.
New Zealand 1 Solomon Islands 1
With both nations already assured of advancement to the third round, these two sides had nothing to play for and the match resulted in a point for both teams. Chris Wood scored his second of the tournament in the 13th minute and Benjamin Totori did likewise in the 56th minute.
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