Town defender Tommy Smith came on as an 88th minute sub as New Zealand beat Fiji 2-0 in Lautoka overnight in the first of two World Cup qualifiers between the sides.
Former Town loanee Chris Wood, now of Leeds, opened the scoring with a penalty three minutes after half-time and Melbourne Victory’s Marco Rojas added the second seven minutes later.
Smith was winning his 30th cap and playing his first game since returning to the All Whites fold. The 26-year-old, who has scored two international goals, last played for New Zealand in November 2014.
The result leaves the All Whites requiring only one point from Tuesday’s game against the Fijians in Wellington to go through to the next stage where they will meet the winners of the other Oceania qualification group - probably Tahiti - in a two-legged play-off.
The side which wins that will face the team which finishes fifth in the South American qualification group in an inter-confederation play-off for a place at the finals in Russia in the summer of 2018.
Town youngster Monty Patterson, who is currently on loan at Braintree, was also included in the squad but pulled out due to a hamstring injury.