KEY POINTS:
New Zealand have one foot in the door of Olympic Games soccer qualification after beating the nine-man Solomon Islands 2-0 in Fiji today.
Goals to Steven Old in the first half and Craig Henderson in the second were enough to win the clash of the unbeaten teams in Lautoka.
The Oly-Whites now only need to win or draw against strugglers the Cook Islands in their final match on Sunday to guarantee top place in the six-nation Oceania qualifying tournament.
If so, they would then require selection ratification from the New Zealand Olympic Committee to represent the Oceania region at the Games in Beijing in August.
The game started at a frantic pace and defender Old made a crucial breakthrough after just five minutes with a headed goal.
There was disaster for the Solomon Islands 7min later when dangerous striker Alick Maemae was sent off for a heavy tackle on Cole Tinkler.
New Zealand used their man advantage well, remaining composed and surrounding lone Solomons striker Benjamin Totori whenever he received the ball.
The result was all-but sealed when Henderson nailed a powerful strike from outside the box with 20min remaining.
The game turned ugly and a frustrated Totori was shown a red card following a series of fouls.
New Zealand were without midfielder Dan Keat , who was this morning found guilty of on-field "assault" against Vanuatu on Monday by soccer's world governing body Fifa, receving a three match suspension and a $3675 fine.
- NZPA
