Oooooooh Santi Cazorla!
Once again, my apologies for the lateness of this one. Sounding like a broken record here but the internet (and general availability of it for that matter) in New Zealand is abysmal. It means that blog articles, with their rich content, have to wait until I stumble across one of those rare 'high-speed' connections, hence the lack of photos on this particular post. It's a shame because this country has been, by far, the most visually breathtaking I have ever visited, and I've got loads of pictures to upload on Flickr. Hopefully Auckland will have cottoned on to the fact that it's the 21st century and I'll be able to share this part of the adventure with you all in more detail.
Anyway, the challenge of watching every
Arsenal game of the 2013/2014 season continues. I was still in
Wellington to catch the Fulham game, which kicked off, locally, at
4am. It was a long day because I was playing footy twelve hours
before, and we had all elected to make a night of it and sleep after
the Gunners had played. The Wellington Phoenix, the A-League's only
New Zealand team, were also playing on the same day.
The
Phoenix were playing Melbourne Victory, and Alister White, a Gooner
who works as an intern at the Phoenix, got hold of a ticket for me.
The Phoenix ended up thumping the Victory 5-0, an impressive feat
when you consider where both teams were in the standings before the
game.
Afterwards,
we headed over to The Grand in the centre of Wellington for the
Phoenix after party. This is where you really notice the difference
between the elite leagues of world football and the A-League. The
Grand is where all the Phoenix players and coaching staff go after
each home game. You don't need a ticket, or an invitation, I'm
guessing the only prerequisite is that you don't wear an opposition
shirt. Inside, all the players were mingling with the paying public,
there was a man-of-the-match presentation. I even chatted with Ernie
Merrick, the current coach, and attempted to give some business
lessons to a hobo that turned out to be the club owner. It was a
refreshing change to the all-too-familiar 'behind closed doors'
affairs of the Premier League businesses
clubs. It's an honest approach to the game and one that I could get
used to.
Alister
hosted a few of us to watch the Arsenal match. After a few beers and
an uninsprining tequila-and-coke concoction, kickoff arrived. The
result was, as is becoming the norm, another three points to keep us
top of the table. The way in how we did it was equally familiar;
loads of possession, questionable finishing, a few close calls before
eventually closing out the game, this time with thanks to Santi
Cazorla. The contenders at the Premier League summit remain within a
hair's breadth of one another though – the question is, which team
will slip up first?
So
with EPL round 22 out of the way, the next fixture is in the FA Cup
against Coventry. I'll be in Auckland for that one, before heading
back to Sydney for one final game in Oceania.
Before
that though I'll be experiencing the wonders of New Zealand's North
Island, including natural hot mineral pools and maybe some bubbling
mud. Ooh.
COYG
