Matt Ridenton provided the crucial assist to New Zealand's goal against the Solomon Islands ©Getty Images

Solomon Islands secured their place in the semi-finals of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Nations Cup despite suffering a late defeat to Group B winners New Zealand at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.

Having already booked their place in the last four of the competition, following victories over Fiji and Vanuatu, New Zealand were hoping to close the group stage with their 100 per cent record intact.

They proved unable to break down a resilient Solomon Islands defence in the first-half, despite a sustained spell of pressure as the interval approached.

Solomon Islands’ Gibson Daudau was twice able to force saves from New Zealand’s goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic on rare attacks. 

With 10 minutes remaining of the contest, New Zealand eventually made their pressure count as defender Luke Adams scored his first international goal by heading in a Matt Ridenton cross.

The Solomon Islands could not muster a response in the closing stages of the contest and feel to their second straight 1-0 loss, having been beaten by the same scoreline by Fiji on Tuesday (May 31).

A 1-0 win over Vanuatu in their first Group B match, however, proved enough for the Solomon Islands to edge into the semi-finals on goal difference, with Fiji one goal worse off after their defeat earlier in the day to Vanuatu.

Roy Krishna scored for the third straight game but could not prevent Fiji from falling to a 3-2 defeat to Vanuatu
Roy Krishna scored for the third straight game but could not prevent Fiji from falling to a 3-2 defeat to Vanuatu ©Getty Images

The Fijian side were left stunned by first-half strikes from Dominique Fred and Vanuatu captain Fenedy Masauvakalo to head into the second period with their hopes of progression looking remote.

Samuela Kautoga brought his side back into the contest in the 51st minute before Roy Krishna scored for the third consecutive match to draw Fiji level.

Their revival was ended with 15 minutes remaining, though, as Brian Kaltack scored a penalty to give Vanuatu a 3-2 victory.

Although the Fijian team missed out on reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, their third place finish in the group ensured them of a progression to the third round of OFC qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Tomorrow is due to see Group A leaders New Caledonia and Tahiti clash, with a victory for either team seeing them set-up a semi-final date with the Solomon Islands next Wednesday (June 8).

Defeat, however, could open the door for hosts Papua New Guinea to move into the top two positions in the group and reach the last four, should they overcome pointless Samoa.