KEY POINTS:
Australia took out the women's Transtasman soccer series with a 2-1 win over New Zealand on the Sunshine Coast last night.
The win gave Australia an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series after they also won the first match 2-0 on Saturday.
New Zealand's goal by Emma Kete brought an end to New Zealand's goal drought against Australia that had last for 10 years.
Introduced from the bench after just 30 minutes with New Zealand already behind to a Kate Gill header, Kete immediately posed problems Australia, twice getting through on goal within minutes of coming on.
She hit an early shot straight at the keeper on her first attempt but made no mistake with a second chance in the 35th minute.
She latched on to an Abby Erceg pass and outpaced Australian captain Cheryl Salisbury before rounding the keeper to slot home.
The deadlock was broken four minutes into the second half as the Matildas broke in behind New Zealand's defence with Amy Chapman finishing the squared pass from six yards out.
New Zealand's goal was their first against Australia since 1998, and the first from open play against a non-Oceania side since scoring against both Japan and Canada in 2000.
New Zealand coach John Herdman acknowledged the significance of the goal but admitted he was disappointed with the result.
" I'm proud that web re starting to threaten top quality sides from open play.
"... we're gutted not to push on - the players genuinely believe that the game was there for the taking," Herdman said.
The third and final match in the series is on Wednesday before the team travel to Port Moresby for a winner-takes-all Olympic qualifier against Papua New Guinea on Saturday.
New Zealand 1 (Emma Kete 35) Australia 2 (Kate Gill 20, Amy Chapman 49). Halftime: 1-1.
- NZPA
