Phoenix teen puts Berisha in his place
Sam Sutton has introduced himself to the A-league – and the competition’s record scorer – after responding to a taunt from opposition striker Besart Berisha to set up the game-winning goal against Western United on Sunday night.
The 19-year-old was handed a surprise start at left-back but it proved to be an inspired selection as Sutton combined with fellow academy graduate Ben Waine to seal a dramatic 3-2 win in the 90th minute.
Berisha, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, was caught on one of the effects microphones saying ‘‘who are you?’’ to the inexperienced Sutton during a verbal exchange between the pair in the second half.
But the promising young Aucklander had the last laugh, replying ‘‘I’m Sam Sutton’’ before lofting a perfectly weighted cross for his mate Waine to head home at the near post with just seven seconds left in regulation time.
‘‘I think Besart will know who he is now,’’ Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said.
‘‘That will be massive for both of them. They both played a very good game, they worked hard for the team, Waineo got some into good areas and I’m very pleased for him and for Sutts for setting it up.’’
Sutton has had to bide his time in his first season as a fully contracted player, playing the fewest minutes of any player in the Phoenix squad before Sunday’s five-goal thriller.
But Talay said he felt he needed to change things up after back-toback defeats and opted to start the childhood Phoenix fan in the unfamiliar position of left-back (Ulises Davila pen-45+1’, Jaushua Sotirio 53’, Benwaine 90’) (Besart Berisha pen-32’, Iker Guarrotxena 56’).
1-1. ahead of
Mcgarry.
‘‘I think Sutts has been working well with us since pre-season and I just felt we needed a change there,’’ Talay said.
‘‘He’s been fantastic with us in training and we gave him an
All
White
James opportunity and he’s done a fantastic job for 90 minutes so I’m very pleased for him.
‘‘It’s been unfortunate for him in the sense that we haven’t had our reserve team here because he would’ve got a lot of game time playing in that position, which would have helped him.
‘‘But at the end of the day we’ve thrown him in the deep end tonight and he’s done well.’’
Sunday’s win saw the Phoenix leapfrog Perth Glory into ninth place ahead of their second meeting of the season in Perth this weekend. They then play Western again in Tasmania the following Thursday.
His were the only pair of hands on the club. Millions of his countrymen will want a piece of Hidekimatsuyama now. Considering how much he values his privacy, it could be quite the interesting tug of war.
Precious few people even knew Matsuyama was married until he and hiswife, Mei, welcomed a baby girl in early 2017. His response to the media uproar back homewas short and completely in character. ‘‘No one,’’ he said, ‘‘really asked me’’.
That won’t happen again. At the start of Masters week, he was far from the most popular golfer in Japan. Matsuyama knows that’s over, too. If only for the moment, he sounded ready.
‘‘Hopefully, I’ll be a pioneer in this and many other Japanese will follow,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m glad to be able to open the floodgates. hopefully, andmanymorewill followme.’’
The bar will be a lot higher now. Matsuyama’s one-shot victory and one-over-par 73 final round were actually a lot better than they’ll look in the history books. Hewas more protective than proactive at the end, bogeying three of the last four holes to avoid even bigger numbers. But from the restart of Sunday’s third round – after an hour-plus rain delay – until those closing holes yesterday, Matsuyama was nearly flawless.
He’d spent most of Sunday’s break hiding in his rental car, scrolling through his phone and stewing over his last shot, a wayward drive at No. 11. He gave himself a pep talk, reasoning things couldn’t get worse. And he was right – up to a point.
Matsuyama locked the car door and then promptly mowed down Augustanational’s final eight holes in six-under, crafting a remarkable 65 and turning a twoshot deficit into a four-shot lead. Then came the hard part, a trip to the interview room.
‘‘I’m not sure how to answer this in a good way,’’ he began, speaking through his interpreter Bob Turner. ‘‘But being in front of the media is still difficult.’’
Turner makes that part of
Matsuyama’s job a little easier. They became fast friends nearly a decade ago, when Matsuyama was still in college and testing the waters in the US. Turner knows his friend’s guarded nature and takes pains to respect his wishes.
‘‘I try to interpret his words here,’’ Turner said, pointing to his heart, ‘‘instead of here’’, he added, now pointing to his head.
And of course, it could have been worse. Several reporters noted the usually two-dozenstrong Japanesemedia contingent, like its larger US counterpart, was drastically reduced because of Covid-19 restrictions. But any number above zerowas more than Matsuyama would have preferred.
‘‘I’m glad themedia are here covering it, but it’s not my favourite thing to do,’’ he continued, ‘‘to stand and answer questions. And sowith fewer media, it has been a lot less stressful for me.’’
Until yesterday, pride of place back home belonged to 74-year-old Hall of Famer Jumbo Ozaki, a gregarious soul who won more
Wellington Phoenix 3
United 2
HT:
Western