Poland (7) v (0) New Zealand

Poland further secured their position at the top of Group C after a convincing win over New Zealand, 7-0. Poland remain undefeated after 6 matches whilst the highly spirited New Zealand continue to search for their second win. Poland will now go through to compete in section one of the secondary stage which could give them a shot at the Homeless World Cup. New Zealand will most likely go on to compete for The Host Cup, the Community Cup or the INSP Networking Cup.

After some inspiration from a keen crowd, New Zealand opened the match with an impressive (and possibly intimidating for their opponents) rendition of the Haka, much to everyone's delight.

Zakowski, still fired up from his earlier great performance against Ethiopia, christened the scoreboard with a shot from the left flank, 1-0 to Poland.

From the beginning of the match opposing players displayed admirable camaraderie as they apologised for rough challenges. It was obvious these two teams enjoyed playing together, with nothing but fair play and sportsmanship guiding player behaviour all match.

New Zealand's goalkeeper, Bradshaw, went above and beyond when he saved two consecutive power shots that look they could have levelled a house.

Kowalczyk scored Poland's second from mid pitch and Rudyk converted a late penalty to give Poland a halftime score of 3-0.

A tremendous cross by Lewandowski was knocked in by Zakowski, giving Poland a strong second half start. With the score 4-0, New Zealand began to step it up with some refined defensive strategies.

Conlon of New Zealand surprised Poland's forward when he dived in front of the ball – prioritising his defensive work over his own safety – and stifling the Polish onslaught.

Poland managed another goal to make it 5-0. After an unlucky pass by New Zealand, Kowalczyk found himself one-on-one with the keeper and put away another for Poland. This was followed by another Polish goal, this time with Lewandowski as the striker, to make the final score 7-0.

Daniel Wood

Photos: Photoworx