1973 Oceania Cup

1973 Oceania Cup

1973 OFC Kapu o Kīngitanga
Tournament details
Host country	New Zealand
Dates	17–24 February
Teams	5 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	New Zealand (1st title)
Runners-up	Tahiti
Third place	New Caledonia
Fourth place	New Hebrides
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	38 (3.17 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Segin Wayewol (NCL) Alan Marley Erroll Bennett (TAH) (3 goals each)
1980 →

The 1973 OFC Nations Cup was the first Oceania-wide football tournament ever held. It took place in New Zealand from 17 February 1973–24 February 1973. All matches were held at Newmarket Park, in Auckland, and five teams participated: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti, New Hebrides (now known as Vanuatu) and Fiji.

At the time, the Oceania Football Confederation was not considered a full FIFA Confederation, and as such allowed national teams unaffiliated with FIFA to enter.

The teams played each other according to a round-robin format, and the top two teams (New Zealand and Tahiti) played off in a final to determine the winner. New Caledonia and New Hebrides also played each other, on the same day as the final, to determine third place.

New Zealand won the tournament with a 2–0 victory in the final, while New Caledonia retained third place by defeating New Hebrides.

Auckland
	Auckland
	Newmarket Park
	Capacity: 14,000

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New Zealand	4	3	1	0	11	4	+7	7	Advance to final
2	Tahiti	4	3	1	0	8	2	+6	7
3	New Caledonia	4	2	0	2	8	5	+3	4	Advance to third place play-off
4	New Hebrides	4	1	0	3	4	9	−5	2
5	Fiji	4	0	0	4	2	13	−11	0

17 February 1973

Tahiti	2–1	New Caledonia
Erroll Bennett ?' Alexis Tumahai ?'	Report	Roger Mandin ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: T. Delahunty (New Zealand)

17 February 1973

New Zealand	5–1	Fiji
Brian Turner ?' David Taylor ?' Geoff Brand ?' Malcolm Bland ?' Alan Vest ?'	Report	Terio Vakatawa ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: A. Nakagawa (New Caledonia)

18 February 1973

New Caledonia	4–1	New Hebrides
Jean Hmae ?', ?' Segin Wayewol ?' Pierre Wacapo ?'	Report	Michael Dupuy ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: P. Tahuaitu (Tahiti)

18 February 1973

New Zealand	1–1	Tahiti
Alan Vest ?'	Report	Erroll Bennett ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: P. Raman (Fiji)

20 February 1973

New Caledonia	2–0	Fiji
Segin Wayewol ?', ?'	Report

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: B. Chaudet (New Hebrides)

20 February 1973

Tahiti	1–0	New Hebrides
Erroll Bennett ?'	Report

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: A. Nakagawa (New Caledonia)

21 February 1973

New Hebrides	2–1	Fiji
Alick Saurei ?' Jacky Valette ?'	Report	Josateki Kurivitu ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: T. Delahunty (New Zealand)

21 February 1973

New Zealand	2–1	New Caledonia
Alan Marley ?' Colin Latimour ?'	Report	Jean Xowie ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: B. Chaudet (New Hebrides)

23 February 1973

Tahiti	4–0	Fiji
Claude Carrara ?' Harold Ng Fok ?' Gilles Malinowski ?' Roland de Marigny ?'	Report

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: A. Nakagawa (New Caledonia)

23 February 1973

New Zealand	3–1	New Hebrides
Malcolm Bland ?' Brian Hardman ?' Alan Marley ?'	Report	Raymond Valette ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: P. Tahuaitu (Tahiti)

24 February 1973

New Caledonia	2–1	New Hebrides
Gerald Delmas ?' Jean Xowie ?'	Report	Charles Galinie ?'

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: P. Tahuaitu (Tahiti)

24 February 1973

New Zealand	2–0	Tahiti
David Taylor ?' Alan Marley ?'	Report

Newmarket Park, Auckland

Referee: B. Chaudet (New Hebrides)

1973 OFC Nations Cup winners
New Zealand First title

There were 37 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 3.08 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

• rec.sports.soccer Statistics Foundation page on Oceania Cup. Accessed 6 September 2005.
• rec.sports.soccer Statistics Foundation 1973 Oceania Cup results. Accessed 6 September 2005.