Australia beats NZ 2-0 in skipper Winston Reid’s final match

Australia completed its World Cup warmup matches with a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Sunday, for its second win against the All Whites in a week.

File Photo of Winston Reid | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Australia completed its World Cup warmup matches with a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Sunday, for its second win against the All Whites in a week.

On an emotional day for the hosts as they bid farewell to captain Winston Reid in front of more than 35,000 people at Eden Park, Socceroos striker Mitchell Duke scored a headed-goal in the 54th minute to open the scoring.

Substitute forward Jason Cummings then converted a penalty in the 80th minute after an eye-catching run by 18-year-old Garang Kuol led to New Zealand midfielder Liberato Cacace being penalized for a handball.

Kuol, who is expected to be signed by English Premier League club Newcastle United in the coming weeks, was Australia’s youngest debutant since Harry Kewell in 1996.

The match marked the end of Reid’s All Whites career with the skipper retiring from international football. The defender is best known for his late goal to secure a 1-1 draw against Slovakia in New Zealand’s opening match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

A two-match series against New Zealand — which included a 1-0 win in Brisbane on Thursday — completes Australia’s match preparations before the World Cup in Qatar. New Zealand did not qualify for the World Cup.

Australia advanced to its fifth consecutive World Cup in the final phase of qualifying after a penalty shootout win over Peru in Qatar in June. The Socceroos is in Group D and it plays France, Tunisia and Denmark.