TOMMY Smith has spoken of his disappointment over the “result and performance” after his New Zealand side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of New Caledonia in the semi-finals of the Oceania Nations Cup.

The All Whites skipper had hoped to lead his country to their first silverware under his captaincy.

But they suffered a surprise defeat in the last four – a result which saw them lose any chance of appearing in next season’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.

By virtue of their semi-final appearance, New Zealand moved a step closer to the next World Cup – a small crumb of comfort for Smith and his team mates.

The Ipswich centre-back, who made his 15th international appearance, tweeted: “Very disappointing result and performance. We will bounce back and learn from this experience and be a stronger squad for it.

“Need to make sure we nail 3rd spot and then regroup for the next stage of qualifiers. Conditions will favour us more in a home and away comp.

“Thanks for all the support from both NZ and Eng, it’s all greatly appreciated and we will give you all something to cheer about!!”

New Zealand face host country the Solomon Islands in a third/fourth place play-off on Sunday.