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Australia certify their qualification for Finalnd
Australia had already been admitted as the qualifying team for the FIFA U/17 tornament in Finland later in the year but to prove they deserved to be their they wanted to beat New Caledonia over the two legged final series.
Because New Caledonia isn't a full member of FIFA they couldn't qualify for the tornament however the OFC felt it was only fair for them to participate in the final after blitzing their group A opponents. However despite the top performances from the unknown nation Australia proved to Oceania they are the team that deserves to go to Finland after all.
The first final saw New Caledonia take it to the OFC giants but were unable to prevent Kristen Sarkies from scoring in the 24th minute from a free kick. Richard Cardozzo, the tornaments leading goal scorer, wasn't to be outdone and nailed one home on 42 minutes.
The second half saw Cardozzo score his second and 13th for the tornament on 47 minutes. However mid way through the second half the New Caledonians accuracy came good and Mone Womowe scored for the minnows. However the deficit remained two goals in Australia's favour, even after Australia went down to ten men. Oliver Totani sent off for a poor tackle on 86 minutes.
The second match saw them kickoff in stiffling conditions at a 9 am start, very early for an international match, U/17 or not. The first half saw Australia contained and New Caledonia had some decent chances of their own. However neither could score and they went to the break at 0-0.
The second half and New Caledonia needed to score twice just to level the aggrigate. Adam Casey's goal in the 52nd minute didn't help things and Eric Paartalu's 61st minute goal sealed it. Despite the certain victory Australia didn't let up and Matthew Deegan scored in the 74th minute. When Deegan was brought down in the box Kristan Sarkies scored from a penalty on 82 minutes.
Despite the fact the matches were entirely for pride, New Caledonia showed some true promise in their future as a footballing nation. And while it's unlikely they are to make it to a world cup anytime soon, this result in their first tornament as a nation proves they have some true potential.
posted 02 March 2003 |
