Blues youngster Monty Patterson came on as a half-time sub as New Zealand defeated New Caledonia 1-0 to reach the final of the Oceania Nations Cup this morning. Former Town loanee Chris Wood scored the only goal of the semi-final in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea four minutes after the break.
Midfielder or striker Patterson, 19, who is yet to make a senior appearance for Town, was winning his fourth full cap, having made his All Whites debut in their 3-1 victory over Fiji in their opening game and then featuring from the bench in the subsequent wins against Vanuatu, 5-0, and the Solomon Islands, 1-0.
Today’s win was revenge for New Zealand, the New Caledonians having pulled off a surprise 2-0 semi-final victory over an All Whites side including Town defender Tommy Smith when the tournament was last staged in 2012.
New Zealand, who in addition to skipper Wood also included another ex-Blues loanee, Rory Fallon, will now meet hosts Papua New Guinea, who beat the Solomon Islands 2-1 in the other semi-final, in Saturday's final.
The Oceania Nations Cup doubles up as the 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.
Chris Wood gave @NZ_Football the lead against New Caledonia https://t.co/XNcnkAk26N pic.twitter.com/sZOJV0TDRd– ONE News - Sport (@ONENewsSport) June 8, 2016
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.
Meanwhile, Blues striker Daryl Murphy and the rest of the Republic of Ireland Euro 2016 squad is flying out to their Versailles training base today with manager Martin O'Neill and his assistant, former Town boss Roy Keane, having agreed new two-year deals.
Ireland play Sweden in their opening group game on Monday, then face Belgium on Saturday 18th June and Italy on Wednesday 22nd June.