New Caledonia defeated Group A rivals Samoa 7-0 on Match Day 4 of the OFC Nations Cup competition at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
New Caledonia went into their match against Samoa knowing that their semi-finals fate could come down to goal difference, but also knowing that the Samoans would be no walkover.
It took Les Cagous close to 20 minutes to break down their resistance, with Roy Kayara’s well taken shot opening the scoring before Kevin Nemia doubled his side’s advantage ten minutes later.
Karaya grabbed his second and Cesar Zeoula made up for his penalty miss against Tahiti by converting from the spot to make it 4-0 going into the break.
After the restart Jean-Brice Wadriako tapped home before Joerisse Cexome passed the keeper with a low drive into the left corner.
With only one minute to go Jefferson Dahite added another from the penalty spot to set up the 7-0 final score.
It could have been worse for Samoa if it wasn’t for goalkeeper Faalavelave Matagi who produced a number of crucial saves to limit the damage.
New Caledonia coach Thierry Sardo said it was important for his side to record a big win against Samoa.
“We knew we needed to score more goals than Tahiti for the goal difference. Our first objective was to qualify for the next phase of the World Cup qualifiers. We've done that now and so we will focus on trying to progress to the semi-finals.”
Samoa coach Scott Easthope lamented his players’ lack of concentration especially in the first half.
“We have some mental lapses early in the game particularly in the first half and just get punished by sides who are being a lot more clinical than we are at the moment.”
The action at the 2016 OFC Nations Cup will continue on Saturday from 4pm local time when Fiji face Vanuatu before New Zealand’s clash with the Solomon Islands from 7pm at Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise Stadium.
Pic: Samoa team warms up at the stadium in Port Moresby/ Football Federation of Samoa Facebook