TOA Samoa pushed New Zealand all the way but were overrun in the dying stages in an epic Four Nations encounter.Both teams scored three tries apiece and Shaun Johnson’s conversion, the only one of the afternoon from either side in the swirling Whangarei conditions, proved the difference as the Kiwis scraped home 14-12.Leading 12-10 in the final 10 minutes the Samoans were clinging grimly to their lead with some bone-jarring defence.Having just narrowed the gap through a Jason Nightingale try, it was another piece of magic from the same player that gave the Kiwis a winning lead.Seemingly wrapped up by the Samoan defence, Nightingale got a miracle offload away to Issac Luke with the ball then going through the hands for Shaun Kenny-Dowall to score.It was a devastating blow to the men in blue who had led for most of the afternoon.“They (Samoa) played a great game and we didn’t match them,” New Zealand captain Simon Mannering conceded as he blamed complacency for a mistake-laden Kiwi performance.“We weren’t playing with patience out there. Everyone was guilty of it. We wanted to improve throughout the tournament but that was definitely a few steps backwards.” A dejected Samoan captain David Fa’alogo could not hide his frustration at watching the chance of an historic victory slip away.“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I’m proud of our players. They put in a massive effort and didn’t come away with the reward that we wanted.“I thought in the last six minutes momentum went towards the Kiwis and they managed to get a few passes together to get the try.”If England, who narrowly downed Samoa in the first round, beat Australia in Melbourne on Sunday then the two unbeaten sides will be the confirmed finalists with a round to spare.However, should Australia win then the finalists will not be decided until after next weekend when Australia play Samoa and England play New Zealand.It was the second week in a row that Samoa had come up agonisingly short, after their defeat by England in Brisbane.