Second half goal gives Kiwis win over PNG

A goal late in the second half gave New Zealand a 1-0 win over PNG in men’s soccer at Bisini this afternoon.

It was a game that could have gone either way with most of the second half contested in the middle of the field.

The game intensified as tensions flared between players. PNG’s strike player Tommy Semmy was the first to get a yellow card for a foul followed soon after by New Zealand’s Luke Adams.

The deadlock was broken when PNG’s keeper Ismael Pole rushed to reach for a ball swerving in from the corner and missed it, allowing New Zealand’s Liam Higgins to simply slot the ball into the net.

Trailing 1-0, with only a quarter left to go in the game, the pressure was on PNG who fired wild shots at the goal but to no avail.

A second card was given to PNG for another foul play which caused further misery for PNG.

The loss is the second for PNG who went down to New Caledonia 1-0 on Friday.