New Zealand U-20s have won their final game at the four-nation PSSI Invitational tournament in Indonesia, beating Fiji 3-0 in the sweltering heat.
Goals by Charlie Beale, Oscar Obel Hall and Jay Herdman gave New Zealand the same winning scoreline with which they beat Fiji in the final of the OFC U-19 Championship in September.
New Zealand were always in control of the game and coach Darren Bazeley would be pleased with progress ahead of the side’s return to Indonesia in May for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
New Zealand football may have missed out on his father but John Herdman’s son Jay is relishing his role with the U-20 side.
He was introduced off the bench for the second half and was impressive again, scoring in his second successive game.
New Zealand went into the game at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium knowing they would need a huge winning margin to stand any chance of winning the tournament.
They came out of the starting blocks with speed and confidence.
Charlie Beale put the New Zealanders ahead after only four minutes, turning a cross into the goal from eight metres.
Then, Oscar Obel Hall doubled their lead in the 7th minute, belting the ball into the net when the Fijians failed to clear a corner.
It seemed the Fijians — who had collected four red cards in their two games at the tournament — were on their best behaviour, and were giving the New Zealand team time on the ball.
As the half progressed, New Zealand were dominating possession, and building from the back.
Midway through the half, Josh Galletly copped a caution in a tangle; it seemed to signal a decision by the Fijians that they too should be more combative, and the tackles started to fly in.
Striker Oliver Colloty — scorer of 11 goals in his eight appearances for the age group side — had his best chance with a near post header in the 38th minute, but it flashed wide of the target.
New Zealand forced a series of corners, seven of them in the first half, while Fiji went into half-time having had no shots on goal, or any corners.
They had picked up two yellow cards in the minutes before half-time, however.
For the second half, coach Bazeley rested Colloty and brought on Kian Donkers, who had shared (with Colloty) the Golden Boot at September’s OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti.
He also introduced attacking midfielder Herdman, scorer of New Zealand’s game-deciding goal against Indonesia earlier in the tournament.
Six minutes after the restart, the Herdman-Donkers partnership paid off.
Donkers won the ball in the Fijian area, took it to the by-line and dragged the ball across the face of the goal for Herdman to tap in.
Main photo: Jay Herdman steers the ball into the Fijian goal to make it 3-0.
For the remainder of the half, Bazeley rotated his squad, giving players useful game time in the humid conditions.
Fiji improved on their first-half performance, creating a couple of half-chances and occasionally looking dangerous on the break.
By the final minutes, the Fijians were down to a walk and the New Zealanders were also struggling in the conditions.
In the final minute of stoppage time, Herdman broke down the left and lined up a shot for Donkers but he hit it at the ‘keeper.
The whistle went; New Zealand would be pleased with their clean sheet, the only one of their tournament, and for the way they controlled the game.
As preparation for the FIFA U-20 World Cup — to be played in Indonesia in May/June — the tournament will have been a useful experience for the New Zealanders.
Match highlights
Match stats
(Fiji / New Zealand)
Shots: 3 / 12
Shots on target: 1 / 9
Possession: 40% / 60%
Fouls: 18 / 9
Yellow cards: 3 / 1
Offsides: 1 / 4
Corners: 0 / 10
Results
Game played on Tuesday February 21, 2023
Fiji 0
New Zealand 3 (Charlie Beale 4′, Oscar Obel Hall 7′, Jay Herdman 51′)
Game played on Wednesday February 22, 2023
Guatemala 1 (Jorge Abelardo Solorzano, Jr 21′)
Indonesia 0
New Zealand squad
Aaryan Raj (Eastern Suburbs), Adam Supyk (Eastern Suburbs), Alby Kelly-Heald (Wellington Phoenix), Charlie Beale (Wellington Phoenix), Dan McKay (Wellington Phoenix), Everton O’Leary (Birkenhead United), Fin Conchie (Wellington Phoenix), Henry Gray (Waterside Karori), Isaac Hughes (Wellington Phoenix), Jackson Jarvie (Eastern Suburbs), Jay Herdman (Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada), Josh Galletly (Eastern Suburbs), Kian Donkers (NEC Nijmegen, Netherlands), Lukas Kelly-Heald (Wellington Phoenix), Marco Lorenz (Wellington Phoenix), Matt Foord (Cashmere Technical), Oliver Colloty (Melville United), Oliver Middleton (Auckland United), Oscar Obel Hall (Esbjerg FC, Denmark), Roman Engle (Gold Coast Knights, Australia), Theo Ettema (Wellington Olympic), Ty Cobb (Brisbane Roar, Australia), William Pierce (Christchurch United).
Starting line-up
Alby Kelly-Heald, Everton O’Leary, Marco Lorenz, Theo Ettema, Adam Supyk, Joshua Galletly, Fin Conchie, Charlie Beale, Aaryan Raj, Oliver Colloty, Oscar Obel Hall.
Substitutes
Henry Gray, Matt Foord, Jackson Jarvie, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Roman Engle, Dan McKay, Jay Herdman, Oliver Middleton, Ty Cobb, Kian Donkers.
Final tournament standings
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