Town youngster Monty Patterson came off the bench to win his third full cap as New Zealand beat the Solomon Islands 1-0 in their final group game at the Oceania Nations Cup in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea this morning.
The 19-year-old came on in the 70th minute with the All Whites still looking to break down a determined Solomon Islands backline. The only goal of the game came on 80 via South Melbourne’s Luke Adams.
New Zealand topped their group and their opponents in one of Wednesday’s semi-finals will be confirmed tomorrow.
Midfielder or striker Patterson, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for Town, made his senior All Whites debut in their opening game 3-1 victory over Fiji and came on as a second-half sub in the subsequent 5-0 win against Vanuatu.
The tournament doubles up as Oceania's second round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, while the winner will represent the Oceania Football Confederation at the 2017 Confederations Cup, which like the World Cup will be in Russia.
Patterson returned to action for Town’s U21s in the closing weeks of the season having spent seven months out with a serious ankle injury.