Marked for Chris Smith
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Nov 2027
1‑5 against Hawke's Bay United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A fracture rules Deklan Lockyer out for 97 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Nov 2027
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market15 Nov 2027
Chris Smith hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Match13 Nov 2027
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Monty De Vries was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match13 Nov 2027
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Southern United and Hawke's Bay United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Clayton Payne, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Nov 2027
104 days out for Deklan Lockyer after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Southern United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market8 Nov 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Southern United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match6 Nov 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Bill Colvey in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Monty De Vries was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match6 Nov 2027
Minute 87, against Team Wellington, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match6 Nov 2027
It needed Ben Nelson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Team Wellington, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
In brief
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Market
Stefan Garbett is free to find somewhere else
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The dugout
Ben Nelson gets picked when it counts
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
139 days out for Deklan Lockyer after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Southern United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Monty De Vries and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
James Lockyer falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad4 Oct 2027
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chris Smith, and the manager let it.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Chris Tuiloma's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Sep 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Bill Colvey and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad27 Sep 2027
At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 4 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Monty De Vries was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ben Smith and Southern United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Southern United, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Market27 Sep 2027
The Ben Nelson story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ben Nelson signs something — a contract at Southern United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
When it matters, Owen Kirwan plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Winston Just knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Winston Just trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Liberato Sutton
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
The offer went to Canterbury United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Bill Colvey in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Ben Nelson has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
No deal for Chris Boxall at that price
Southern United offered $20.0K; Waitakere United said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Monty De Vries falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
Chris Smith gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
A loan move for Jake Sutton is in the works
Southern United have made the call to WaiBOP United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
Liberato Sutton damages knee ligaments — 90 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Monty De Vries and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hapoel Acre have kept their man, and Southern United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Jul 2027
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chris Smith, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
When it matters, Ben Nelson plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Southern United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer from Team Wellington for Oliver Lewis was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market5 Jul 2027
Winston Just hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” James Lockyer and Southern United agree another 3 years.
Market5 Jul 2027
The chase for Bill Colvey ended with $180.0K changing hands and Canterbury United out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Monty De Vries and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Chris Smith has improved at 27, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Market5 Jul 2027
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michael Smith, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Liberato Sutton
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Monty De Vries was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Jun 2027
James Lockyer has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad28 Jun 2027
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market28 Jun 2027
A stepping stone, not a home, for Clayton Payne
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Southern United were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
James Lockyer has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Southern United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
54 days out for Monty De Vries after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Southern United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad10 May 2027
Monty De Vries and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad10 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jai Payne was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 May 2027
Oliver Lewis gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout10 May 2027
A promise honoured for Chris Smith
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Southern United told Chris Smith something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout10 May 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Tim Van Hattum is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
A fracture rules Monty De Vries out for 61 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market3 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ben Nelson and Southern United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market3 May 2027
As if he never left: Bill Wood returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Bill Wood is a Southern United player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad3 May 2027
Monty De Vries was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout3 May 2027
James Lockyer has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Southern United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Ben Smith
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market3 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Southern United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market29 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Monty De Vries falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Stefan Garbett has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Southern United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Winston Smith knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Winston Smith trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Team Wellington may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Chris Smith and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market15 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Team Wellington will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Team Wellington would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
Winston Smith breaks a bone — 107 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 107 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The knee: Tommy Reid out for 21 days
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Southern United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Monty De Vries and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ben Barbarouses falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Jai Payne knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jai Payne trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 Feb 2027
Team Wellington refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 19 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
He is 19, he is averaging 7.11, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Steven Lustica and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad22 Feb 2027
25 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market22 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Walter Scott’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 56. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match27 Jan 2027
Out, 0‑2 to Hawke's Bay United, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Team Wellington close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Steven Lustica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AFC Wimbledon have kept their man, and Team Wellington go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marco Wood, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Cameron Lewis left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Team Wellington will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Jan 2027
Position 3 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
An average of 7.11 in a first team he is several years too young for. Team Wellington have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Team Wellington may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Team Wellington asked and Hamrun Spartans said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jan 2027
54 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Chris Smith and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Team Wellington training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jake Payne is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market25 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Walter Scott’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
When it matters, Monty Smith plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Dec 2026
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Sitiveni Begg breaks a bone — 35 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ben Nelson takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Ben Nelson at his very best
Marked 9.35. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Southern United.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tim Van Hattum and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jai Payne was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Nov 2026
Monty De Vries damages knee ligaments — 16 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad16 Nov 2026
11 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match14 Nov 2026
A 2‑7 beating by Hawke's Bay United was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market16 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match14 Nov 2026
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Southern United are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A hand in 2 of them from Ben Smith — 7.52
Marked 7.52. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Monty De Vries and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.