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Smith Skippers All Whites into Semi-Finals Monday, 4th Jun 2012 09:27
Tommy Smith skippered New Zealand to a 2-1 victory over Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Islands overnight to take his side into the semi-finals of the Oceania Nations Cup. Perth Glory’s Shane Smeltz and Chris Wood of West Brom scored the All Whites' goals.
Smith, who won his 13th full cap, tweeted: “Another win on the board, tough conditions with temperature at 39 degrees! Congratulations to Tim Myers for making his All Whites debut.”
New Zealand next face the hosts on Wednesday in a tournament which doubles as part of the World Cup qualification process. Their semi-final, against opponents yet to be set, will be played on Friday.
Smith’s goal in their opening match victory over Fiji can be seen below.
Meanwhile, Blues striker Ronan Murray could win his third Republic of Ireland U21 cap this evening when his side take on Italy in a Euro 2013 qualifier in Sligo.
Photo: Action Images
Photo: Action Images
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2 years ago i thought he was itfc future then went a bit wayward under keane and jewells half season and start of last year, but to be fair was being either played on the right or when on the left delaney was on the right immediate nightmare like norwich away i think im right there oops could be wrong,he got sent off at peterborough early season now i played a lot of football in suffolk at a lower level but like in all walks of life life is a learning process and has this boy manned up and leanrt yes now becoming a man has worked hard to get his chance again and i think hes grabbing yes he loves ipswich and i for one think ipswich should love him once again yes he is our future lot of time for the now fast becoming man,which could erase one jewell headache one centre back and not two
It must be tough playing in such extreme conditions. I lived in Papua in 2008 - it's tough. Very hot, excruciatingly humid, and power cuts are so frequent having a working fan is a luxury let alone air conditioning. The locals are exceptionally fit and acclimatised. Playing in the Solomon Islands gives an advantage to the hot climate teams so NZ have an extra burden to adapt. If these games were played in cooler conditions I'm sure they'd be getting cricket scores as skills trump fitness levels.
..... interesting that he is benefitting so much from playing for his national team - it wouldn't be telling us something about his Coaching and Encouragement at Portman Road, or, of course the lack of such - now would it ????????????????????
Keep it rolling Tommy - playing for the right people, you have all the essentials to become a very established player.
@h32 - it couldn't be the coaching he has received all year has benefitted him at international level? He's also playing against stronger opposition in the Championship than Fiji or Papua New Guinea - I doubt any of their players would get into any English League team.
Big fan of this lad, we all had concerns about him but he has turned a corner in the second half of this season. One of the hardest workers in the team, if he puts in consistantly good performances next season he could be captain and I wouldnt complain one bit. We still need another Right CB to go along side him though.
Mark Paston played for Bradford City for a while, maybe PJ knows him? He has made some very important saves for NZ but tbh I doubt he is Championship standard, and he's 35 now.
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