New Zealand have beaten the Solomon Islands 3-0 in Auckland in a positive start to their bid to qualify for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Marco Rojas had a hand in all three goals at Centre Park, the diminutive playmaker - who's already won one senior cap - laying on the final pass for the first and last goals and netting from the penalty spot in between as the Junior All Whites leapfrogged the Solomons at the top of Group B at the Oceania Championship.
Dakota Lucas controlled Rojas's cross neatly inside the six yard box after a goalless first half to opening the scoring in the 51st minute, and 10 minutes later Andrew Milne duped Freddie Kini into making a lazy tackle inside the area to earn a penalty.
Rojas duly converted the spot kick and then put the finishing touches on a fine individual contribution by slipping a pass into the run of substitute Andy Bevin who made it 3-0 in the 68th minute.
Vanuatu became the first team to book a spot in the semi-finals, edging Fiji 2-0 while Papua New Guinea overpowered American Samoa 5-1.
