Needing three points to book their early passage to the play-offs, it looked like New Zealand would have to settle for a draw as an intriguing match entered injury time at 1-1. But England-based defender and vice-captain Tommy Smith had other ideas and stepped up to loop a header over New Caledonia goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine with virtually the last action of the evening.
Ricki Herbert’s men will now go on to meet the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation in a two-legged home-and-away play-off as they continue on the road to Brazil and look to repeat their World Cup-qualifying heroics of 2010, when a win over Bahrain earned the nation its second ever appearance on the world’s biggest stage.
The All Whites must have thought they would have to wait until this Tuesday’s final round of action for another crack at winning Stage 3 until Smith’s late intervention sent the New Zealand bench and a rowdy 7,000-strong crowd at Forsyth Barr Stadium into delirium.
Herbert drew parallels with the 2010 campaign and predicted the Stage 3 winners to grow stronger.
“In some small way it probably resembles what we did in the last campaign. We went to Vanuatu and got one in the 93rd minute and we built from there. I have that feeling about this group now,” Herbert said.
“We got what we needed, and whilst at the end of the day it wasn’t the best of performances, it gives us a chance. I’m delighted, they stuck to their guns and they got something from it.”
Herbert said the intense tussle was everything he expected from the New Caledonians.
“This team was only three points behind us. They’ve been resolute throughout the campaign, scored a lot of goals and I said before the game I thought they were going to be very tough for us. They have the ability to punish you.”
The All Whites are now just 180 minutes away from representing Oceania at successive FIFA World Cups but were made to battle hard for over 90 minutes against a New Caledonia side desperate to keep its own hopes of reaching Brazil alive.
Les Cagous produced some of the best moments of the match with Cesar Lolohea instrumental in midfield and Georges Gope-Fenepej a constant threat down the left-hand flank.
Lolohea’s strike in the 56th minute – to cancel out Chris Killen’s powerful 10th-minute headed opener and give the visitors a foothold in the match – oozed class, the France-based midfielder taking Bertrand Kai’s pass on his chest to break the home side’s defence before slotting past Mark Paston.
A stuttering New Zealand rode their luck but equally cursed it at times with both Smith, on two occasions, and Chris Wood being denied by the woodwork, while gloveman Nyikeine put in an inspired performance to keep the visitors in touch.
The All Whites, who finished the stronger of the two teams, had a strong claim for a penalty turned down as regular time expired, when Shane Smeltz emerged bloodied from an attempt to head in a winner after coming off second best to a raised boot.
But with the crowd growing increasingly nervous, new captain Winston Reid headed a Kosta Barbarouses free kick back towards goal for Smith to notch a strike he won’t forget in a hurry.
“It’s definitely my best feeling in an All Whites shirt,” Smith said. “It’s always a great feeling to score the winning goal, especially in the dying seconds of the game.”
New Zealand will now look to prepare for their challenge against the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation, a pair of matches that have been penciled in for November.
The second game of match day five in Stage 3 will take place on Friday 22 March at 8pm (Tahiti time) when Tahiti welcomes Solomon Islands to Papeete.

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