New Zealand made an emphatic start to the OFC Under 19 Women's Football Championship, thrashing last year's Under 20 World Cup hosts Papua New Guinea 12-0.
Hannah Blake opened the scoring in the 16th minute and finished with a four-goal haul, as the hosts laid down an early marker.
Hannah Blake bagged four goals for New Zealand. Photo: OFC via Phototek
But New Zealand coach Gareth Turnbull still believed there was ample room for improvement.
"In all reality the first half performance was poor from the standards we demand of future Football Ferns," he said.
"But credit to them, we spoke through some things pretty honestly at half-time and came out and executed what we asked them to do.
"So I'm really pleased with the execution of the second half, and pleased to get the tournament off with a win."
Papua New Guinea coach Rachel Wadunah was impressed by the attitude of her side in trying circumstances.
"They did the best they could, despite conceding goals," she stated.
"New Zealand were very fast on the ball. There were times when they would play behind our defenders and we weren't able to handle them.
"We just have to make sure we train on getting the ball to the side so we can stop them coming through the middle so we can close them down."
New Zealand thrashed Papua New Guinea 12-0 on matchday one in Auckland. Photo: OFC via Phototek
Fiji outclassed Tonga 4-0 in the second match at Ngahue Reserve and coach Soraj Kumar was elated with how his team performed.
"They really played well. In the build-up, prior to the buildup of play they were really good in the creative attack phase and as well as finishing also," he said.
"The best part was the way they were keeping possession. They were doing the team tasks which we had discussed.
"They played according to the game plan that we had for them in defence and as well as in attack which was wonderful to watch them play."
Fiji were in control against Tonga. Photo: OFC via Phototek
Tonga coach Christian Koaneti admitted his side wasn't as organised as their opponents and it showed in final result.
"We tried to play according to what we planned, but it didn't work out that way. I think during the match Fiji was much better ahead," he said.
"I thought our defensive play was positive, they came in compact a few times which was good, but Fiji was technically superior to us today."
New Caledonia's Alice Wenessia scored the only goal of the match against Samoa. Photo: OFC via Phototek
Meanwhile New Caledonia edged Samoa 1-0 in the final match of the day, with Alice Wenessia slotting the ball into the top right corner of the net from a corner for the only goal of the match seven minutes into the second half.
Coach Kamali Fitialeata said an opening win in the competition was nice, especially after the results of his side's previous outing in this age group which included a 6-2 loss to Samoa in 2015.
"We're happy to get a win here because the Samoan team posed a lot of problems for us, not just physically but tactically too," he said.
"I think the girls were a bit nervous going into this first match. A bit of tension, a bit of pressure and playing in front of a crowd which they're not used to. I also got the impression they were a bit heavy-legged today, but mentally they managed to get out of their own heads and played well."
The second round of matches is on Friday with the overall winner to qualify for next year's Under 20 World Cup in Japan.
