Town defender Tommy Smith netted his first international goal to see his New Zealand side to a 1-0 victory over Fiji in their opening match at the Oceania Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands overnight. Smith, who was skippering the side, slammed home from close range in the ninth minute after Fiji keeper Simione Tamanisau had failed to hold on to a freekick.
Smith says his goal came from following the example of more regular scorers in similar situations: "You watch strikers score their goals and you try and do what they do.
"I've just gambled that keeper might make a little mistake and luckily for me he did."
The 22-year-old, who was winning his 12th cap, admits his side found it hard going with the game at the Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara having kicked-off at noon: "It was tough conditions, very humid.
"We managed to get quite an early goal which helped us settle a bit. Unfortunately we couldn’t add to the goal but we managed to hold on to the win.
"They got their tails up towards the end. We were defending quite deep towards the end and the energy levels were low but we managed to get through it.”
The All Whites next face Papua New Guinea on Monday and finally the hosts on Wednesday in the competition which doubles as part of the World Cup qualification process.
Later today, Blues midfielder Josh Carson, who is 19 on Sunday, could win his third full cap in Northern Ireland's friendly against Holland at the Amsterdam Arena (BBC 2 NI, Sky channel 992, 6.50pm).
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