Australia have earned a 1-0 win over the All Whites in their football friendly at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium at Brisbane on Thursday.
In their first meeting in over a decade, the Socceroos found the back of the net with their only on-target strike of the night courtesy of Awer Mabil in the 32nd minute.
With the teams celebrating a centenary of trans-Tasman internationals, the match delivered on the occasion. The contest was lively throughout, with plenty of movement and opportunities at both ends of the pitch.
Despite the disparity in the FIFA rankings - where New Zealand sit 103rd and Australia 39th - the short-handed All Whites more than held their own - enjoying the majority of possession and putting more shots on goal than their World Cup-bound opponents.
Matthew Garbett was outstanding for the All Whites, omnipresent in the midfield, while forward Elijah Just was hugely impressive, terrorising the Socceroos' right flank all evening.
Nevertheless, the All Whites will be frustrated with their inability to register a goal for a fourth consecutive game, despite creating a handful of opportunities.
The visitors had the run of play in the early stages. Defender Tim Payne intercepted a poor pass in the opening minutes and put a shot on target, although it was comfortably reeled in by Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.
A few minutes later, the All Whites should have taken the lead. Andre de Jong latched on to keeper Oli Sail's searching goal kick and had the angle on the final defender but slid his shot wide of the right post.
Australia would've felt hard done by when they put the ball in the back of the net from a corner only to be denied by a flag for what later appeared to be more of a slip by NZ's Nando Pijnaker.
But they soon had reason to smile, as the ever dangerous Awer Mabil struck a bouncing ball past Sail from a metre outside the box to give the hosts the lead.
The All Whites responded swiftly, with Garbett testing the defence and finding Bell, whose shot was relatively easily controlled by Ryan.
The Australians came out of the sheds looking determined to add to their goal advantage, stringing together some slick passages of attacking play but unable to find the finishing touch.
The Kiwis continued to offer plenty of their own offensively, holding possession well for multiple phases, with Bell soon putting a fourth - albeit harmless - NZ shot on target.
The All Whites finished the stronger of the two teams, applying plenty of pressure on the Aussie defence in the final stretch but with ultimately no reward.
Australia had the best chance of the half, however, with Oli Sail's outstretched fingertip steering Mathew Leckie's shot off the outside of the lefthand post.
The teams will meet again for the second and final match of the series at Auckland's Eden Park on Sunday.
Australia 1 (Mabil 32nd min) New Zealand 0
