Auckland FC has accomplished a significant feat and clinched the Premiers Plate without kicking a ball.
Melbourne City's nil-all draw with Adelaide ensured the Black Knights can't be overtaken on the regular season ladder.
Auckland FC player Nando Pijnaker joined Piney ahead of the team's clash at Mount Smart Stadium.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Bernanda Pinick who joins us now. Nanda, thanks for taking
the time. I guess at the start of the week
you didn't know what was going to happen last night.
It might have been that you needed a draw this
afternoon at least against Perth to secure the Premier's Play.
You don't now, of course, but at the start of
the week and across the week, was there a conscious
effort to keep things as normal as possible and to
stay grounded, stay focused.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, yeah, definitely for sure. Even though Pertha at the
bottom of the table, we lost them last time, so
we still remember that. So we want to give one
back to them, so to speak, and hopefully we can
yet put on a really good performance at our last
home game. So yeah, we're all really excited.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, I mean that was a bit of an ourlly,
wasn't it. The loss to Perth only two losses all season.
They're the only team to have beaten you over in Australia.
What happened that night? Have you looked back at that game?
Is there anything you can take from it that will
be useful today.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I haven't looked back at it since we've played there
a long time ago. Now I do remember that. Yeah,
we had a lot of chances that we didn't manage
to score, So I think we were a bit unlucky
not to score in that game. So hopefully we can. Yeah,
obviously put our chances away in this game.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So the success of the side's been built on a
number of factors, one of which is the best defense
in the league, just twenty three goals conceded in twenty
four matches, eleven clean sheets. As a defender yourself, Nando,
how much pride do you take in stats like that.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, I think it's amazing as a defender, but also
for the whole team. I don't think it's just the
defenders that played their part with that. I think it's
from the front, from the strikers. Obviously we have Alex
and goal who's been Yeah, I think amazing for us,
but it's the whole team in general working hard for
each other keeping that ball out of our net. So yeah,
it's been good.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
The back five has been really consistent with Alex Paorsan
goal yourself, Hiroki Sakai, Francis Ter Vreez. You've all played
pretty much every game, Dan Hall, who came back from injury.
Tom Smith was there while he was injured. So how
much has that consistency helped having pretty much the same
guys week in week out.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, it's been great obviously, So we've Yeah, we've kind of,
I guess improved together since the start of the season,
although we had a obviously a very good start, keeping
a bunch of clean sheets at the start. But I
think over the course of the season, Yeah, you learn
each other's abilities, what they're good at, what there may
be not so good at, so you can help them
out in certain moments. And that's really helped us throughout
(02:34):
the season, getting through tough games so that we can, yeah,
obviously have the best defense of the league.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Are I will to somehow articulate your captain, Hiroki Sakai's
influence on your playing group.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Wow, that's very difficult. I think he's incredible as a
player and as a human being. Yeah, I've said it before.
It's a privilege to be with them at training and
obviously play with him. Yeah, I think he's been amazing
for us. I learned from him, yeah, every single day,
and I love just watching him play played football as well.
So yeah, I think for us he's been absolutely amazing
(03:12):
to be honest, and.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
The man behind you, Alex Paulson. He leads the league
in a lot of the goalkeeping stats in terms of
clean sheets and safe percentages, things like that. Can you
give us an idea of how Alex Paulson compares to
some of the other goalkeepers you've played in front of.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, I think Ap has been amazing, especially this season.
So before the season, I hadn't really played I don't
know if they've actually ever played with him before in
a competitive match, so I didn't know too much of
what to expect. But yeah, he's been amazing for us.
I think he's grown a lot, and he has a
lot of aura and prisons, so I think some teams
are almost worried when they face him because I know
(03:48):
that if I make a mistake or makes a mistake
and the striker runs throng goal, he still has yeh
Alex debat, which is tough enough. So yeah, I think
he's going to be top top keeper. He already is,
so yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I love that description aura. That describes it perfectly. You've
played in front of a bunch of goalkeep because I'm
sure some of who wouldn't have been quite so effective.
Is there a real security in having someone like him
behind you?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yeah, definitely, definitely. I think Alexi he's not only good
with his hands, but he's good with his seat as well.
So if we're in trouble playing out from the back,
then I know that Alex is there to help us
out with that area as well. So yeah, for us,
it's it's been amazing to have him there for every
single game, and I know that it's it's really difficult
for the opposition to score, so that really helps us
(04:34):
out and gives.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Us confidence and down the other end. Nando, four goals
this season for you as well, how much of you
enjoyed contributing the attacking end as well?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, yeah, it's been a bit new to me. I
haven't scored too many goals, but obviously really want to
improve in all areas of my game, and yeah, obviously
scoring it as one of them. So that's been really enjoyable.
Hopefully get one or two more before the season is finished.
But yeah, no, it's been it's been great. But it's
also the team created a lot of opportunities from from
(05:04):
set pieces and corners, which is been where most of
my goals had come from, so if not all of them.
So yeah, it's been really good. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Have you pointed out to your central defensive partner Dan
Hall that he hasn't yet scored his first goal for
Auckland FC.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, there is a little joke going around between the
defenders who can score the most goals, But yeah, I
think there's one coming for Dan. So maybe it's this weekend.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Maybe maybe today is the day you were overseas for
a long time, Nando, playing in Europe for five years.
How much convincing did you need to come back to
Walkland after so much time away?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, obviously a little bit. I didn't know what the
plan was going to be for me. I knew that
I wanted to get out of Ireland at the time,
and that New Zealand or Auckland Sea was one of
the options. Obviously, because the club had never played in
the A League before, I didn't know too much what
to expect, and there was just sort of I heard
that there was going to be a club, but there
(06:00):
was no coach yet, there were no players, so there's
kind of like, okay, let's wait and see a little bit,
what's what's going to happened? And then once the yeah,
once the coach was named, and then Danny came on
board to us worked before, and there's a bunch of
players from the Alllites obviously and some some good friends
of mine. It didn't need too much more convincing than that.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
So once you did get together and the imports all
arrived and you started training together, did it feel like
this would be a team that would be challenging for
silverware straight away?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
At the very start? Probably not, Because we'd never played
together before. We didn't know. There was sort of unexpectedness,
if if that's a word, or apprehension of what was
going to happen that season. Uh, you could sense that
we had a yeah, obviously a really good group of
players as football players, but also as people. I think
we have really a really good group of humble, humble
(06:56):
players and humble people. So I think that's really in
one of our strengths this season. We've all stuck together
throughout the yeah, good times and the time. So yeah,
I think that's that's really helped us.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And you're still pretty young. I mean, you've got many
many more years ahead of you as a professional footballer.
Is it your ambition Nando to play overseas again at
some stage?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Ah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Obviously I'm enjoying the season as
much as as much as I can, and then yeah,
I don't know. I have a three year contract with Auckland,
so I'm really enjoying my time here. We're obviously having
a good season this season, so we'll see what happens
in the future. But yeah, at some point, obviously I'd
love to go back overseason. Yeah, see how it goes
(07:37):
over there.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And I know you're only focusing on the A League
season at the moment, but the World Cup is now
just over a year away. Of course, you're part of
the squad that earned qualification last month for the World
Cup in North America next year. How driven a to
be part of your White squad for that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Very driven. These World Cups they don't come around too often. Obviously.
This is the New Zealand's third World Cup, so I
definitely want to be a part of it. And yeah,
obviously I want to make sure that I'm somewhere, I'm
playing regularly and performing well, so hopefully if that's Auckland
then that's great, and yeah, so I'm really looking forward
to the World Cup.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So five o'clock kickoff this afternoon. Most of the home
games have been five o'clock kickoffs. What is your match
day routine? What do you do on a day when
the game's at five o'clock?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Not too much to be honestly, I try to. I
like to be quite relaxed on game day, so obviously
like a bit of a sleeping, just chill, breakfast, might
go for a little walk. I live quite close to
the beach, very lucky, so we'd go for a little
walk on the beach for fifteen twenty minutes or so,
and then yeah, just be at home. I like to
be around your friends and family are my girlfriends, So yeah,
(08:47):
just try to be as chill as possible before the
storm before the game. So yeah, that's kind of what
my yeah, prematch routine looks like.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And just to finish this is just step one and
your goal to win both the Premiers Played and the
A League Championship in the first year for Auckland FC.
Those goals I'm sure have been talked about internally. Are
they starting to feel more real now as we really
reach the business end of the season, I think so.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
I think yeah, the team and the players, coaching staff,
we all have the belief that we can obviously go
all the way when the minor premiership and the major premiership.
You know, obviously now we're just focused on Perth at
the moment and then we're going to be fully focused
on making sure all the players are in the best
or the best they can be going into the finals.
So yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Definitely exciting time Snander, congratulations on first of all the
Premier's plate win. That's so on up and you'll look
forward to showing it off to the crowd at at
Go Media this afternoon. All the best for the rest
of the season as well, and thanks for taking the
time for a chat.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Mate, No worries. Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Bernanda Pinick who joins us now. Nanda, thanks for taking
the time. I guess at the start of the week
you didn't know what was going to happen last night.
It might have been that you needed a draw this
afternoon at least against Perth to secure the Premier's Play.
You don't now, of course, but at the start of
the week and across the week, was there a conscious
effort to keep things as normal as possible and to
stay grounded, stay focused.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, yeah, definitely for sure. Even though Pertha at the
bottom of the table, we lost them last time, so
we still remember that. So we want to give one
back to them, so to speak, and hopefully we can
yet put on a really good performance at our last
home game. So yeah, we're all really excited.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, I mean that was a bit of an ourlly,
wasn't it. The loss to Perth only two losses all season.
They're the only team to have beaten you over in Australia.
What happened that night? Have you looked back at that game?
Is there anything you can take from it that will
be useful today.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I haven't looked back at it since we've played there
a long time ago. Now I do remember that. Yeah,
we had a lot of chances that we didn't manage
to score, So I think we were a bit unlucky
not to score in that game. So hopefully we can. Yeah,
obviously put our chances away in this game.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So the success of the side's been built on a
number of factors, one of which is the best defense
in the league, just twenty three goals conceded in twenty
four matches, eleven clean sheets. As a defender yourself, Nando,
how much pride do you take in stats like that.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, I think it's amazing as a defender, but also
for the whole team. I don't think it's just the
defenders that played their part with that. I think it's
from the front, from the strikers. Obviously we have Alex
and goal who's been Yeah, I think amazing for us,
but it's the whole team in general working hard for
each other keeping that ball out of our net. So yeah,
it's been good.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
The back five has been really consistent with Alex Paorsan
goal yourself, Hiroki Sakai, Francis Ter Vreez. You've all played
pretty much every game, Dan Hall, who came back from injury.
Tom Smith was there while he was injured. So how
much has that consistency helped having pretty much the same
guys week in week out.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, it's been great obviously, So we've Yeah, we've kind of,
I guess improved together since the start of the season,
although we had a obviously a very good start, keeping
a bunch of clean sheets at the start. But I
think over the course of the season, Yeah, you learn
each other's abilities, what they're good at, what there may
be not so good at, so you can help them
out in certain moments. And that's really helped us throughout
(02:34):
the season, getting through tough games so that we can, yeah,
obviously have the best defense of the league.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Are I will to somehow articulate your captain, Hiroki Sakai's
influence on your playing group.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Wow, that's very difficult. I think he's incredible as a
player and as a human being. Yeah, I've said it before.
It's a privilege to be with them at training and
obviously play with him. Yeah, I think he's been amazing
for us. I learned from him, yeah, every single day,
and I love just watching him play played football as well.
So yeah, I think for us he's been absolutely amazing
(03:12):
to be honest, and.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
The man behind you, Alex Paulson. He leads the league
in a lot of the goalkeeping stats in terms of
clean sheets and safe percentages, things like that. Can you
give us an idea of how Alex Paulson compares to
some of the other goalkeepers you've played in front of.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, I think Ap has been amazing, especially this season.
So before the season, I hadn't really played I don't
know if they've actually ever played with him before in
a competitive match, so I didn't know too much of
what to expect. But yeah, he's been amazing for us.
I think he's grown a lot, and he has a
lot of aura and prisons, so I think some teams
are almost worried when they face him because I know
(03:48):
that if I make a mistake or makes a mistake
and the striker runs throng goal, he still has yeh
Alex debat, which is tough enough. So yeah, I think
he's going to be top top keeper. He already is,
so yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I love that description aura. That describes it perfectly. You've
played in front of a bunch of goalkeep because I'm
sure some of who wouldn't have been quite so effective.
Is there a real security in having someone like him
behind you?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yeah, definitely, definitely. I think Alexi he's not only good
with his hands, but he's good with his seat as well.
So if we're in trouble playing out from the back,
then I know that Alex is there to help us
out with that area as well. So yeah, for us,
it's it's been amazing to have him there for every
single game, and I know that it's it's really difficult
for the opposition to score, so that really helps us
(04:34):
out and gives.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Us confidence and down the other end. Nando, four goals
this season for you as well, how much of you
enjoyed contributing the attacking end as well?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, yeah, it's been a bit new to me. I
haven't scored too many goals, but obviously really want to
improve in all areas of my game, and yeah, obviously
scoring it as one of them. So that's been really enjoyable.
Hopefully get one or two more before the season is finished.
But yeah, no, it's been it's been great. But it's
also the team created a lot of opportunities from from
(05:04):
set pieces and corners, which is been where most of
my goals had come from, so if not all of them.
So yeah, it's been really good. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Have you pointed out to your central defensive partner Dan
Hall that he hasn't yet scored his first goal for
Auckland FC.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, there is a little joke going around between the
defenders who can score the most goals, But yeah, I
think there's one coming for Dan. So maybe it's this weekend.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Maybe maybe today is the day you were overseas for
a long time, Nando, playing in Europe for five years.
How much convincing did you need to come back to
Walkland after so much time away?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, obviously a little bit. I didn't know what the
plan was going to be for me. I knew that
I wanted to get out of Ireland at the time,
and that New Zealand or Auckland Sea was one of
the options. Obviously, because the club had never played in
the A League before, I didn't know too much what
to expect, and there was just sort of I heard
that there was going to be a club, but there
(06:00):
was no coach yet, there were no players, so there's
kind of like, okay, let's wait and see a little bit,
what's what's going to happened? And then once the yeah,
once the coach was named, and then Danny came on
board to us worked before, and there's a bunch of
players from the Alllites obviously and some some good friends
of mine. It didn't need too much more convincing than that.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
So once you did get together and the imports all
arrived and you started training together, did it feel like
this would be a team that would be challenging for
silverware straight away?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
At the very start? Probably not, Because we'd never played
together before. We didn't know. There was sort of unexpectedness,
if if that's a word, or apprehension of what was
going to happen that season. Uh, you could sense that
we had a yeah, obviously a really good group of
players as football players, but also as people. I think
we have really a really good group of humble, humble
(06:56):
players and humble people. So I think that's really in
one of our strengths this season. We've all stuck together
throughout the yeah, good times and the time. So yeah,
I think that's that's really helped us.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And you're still pretty young. I mean, you've got many
many more years ahead of you as a professional footballer.
Is it your ambition Nando to play overseas again at
some stage?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Ah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Obviously I'm enjoying the season as
much as as much as I can, and then yeah,
I don't know. I have a three year contract with Auckland,
so I'm really enjoying my time here. We're obviously having
a good season this season, so we'll see what happens
in the future. But yeah, at some point, obviously I'd
love to go back overseason. Yeah, see how it goes
(07:37):
over there.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And I know you're only focusing on the A League
season at the moment, but the World Cup is now
just over a year away. Of course, you're part of
the squad that earned qualification last month for the World
Cup in North America next year. How driven a to
be part of your White squad for that? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Very driven. These World Cups they don't come around too often. Obviously.
This is the New Zealand's third World Cup, so I
definitely want to be a part of it. And yeah,
obviously I want to make sure that I'm somewhere, I'm
playing regularly and performing well, so hopefully if that's Auckland
then that's great, and yeah, so I'm really looking forward
to the World Cup.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So five o'clock kickoff this afternoon. Most of the home
games have been five o'clock kickoffs. What is your match
day routine? What do you do on a day when
the game's at five o'clock?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Not too much to be honestly, I try to. I
like to be quite relaxed on game day, so obviously
like a bit of a sleeping, just chill, breakfast, might
go for a little walk. I live quite close to
the beach, very lucky, so we'd go for a little
walk on the beach for fifteen twenty minutes or so,
and then yeah, just be at home. I like to
be around your friends and family are my girlfriends, So yeah,
(08:47):
just try to be as chill as possible before the
storm before the game. So yeah, that's kind of what
my yeah, prematch routine looks like.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And just to finish this is just step one and
your goal to win both the Premiers Played and the
A League Championship in the first year for Auckland FC.
Those goals I'm sure have been talked about internally. Are
they starting to feel more real now as we really
reach the business end of the season, I think so.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
I think yeah, the team and the players, coaching staff,
we all have the belief that we can obviously go
all the way when the minor premiership and the major premiership.
You know, obviously now we're just focused on Perth at
the moment and then we're going to be fully focused
on making sure all the players are in the best
or the best they can be going into the finals.
So yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Definitely exciting time Snander, congratulations on first of all the
Premier's plate win. That's so on up and you'll look
forward to showing it off to the crowd at at
Go Media this afternoon. All the best for the rest
of the season as well, and thanks for taking the
time for a chat.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Mate, No worries. Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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