THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Manzinga nets debut goal — much to delight of his famous PSG mates
MOTHERWELL’S fine form this season has made plenty of people sit up and take notice.
But, as unlikely as it sounds, the Steelmen’s 4-0 thumping of St Johnstone on Saturday also grabbed the attention of leading players at some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe, Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot and Bayern Munich attacker Kingsley Coman are just three of the superstar names keeping tabs on the Scottish Premiership club this season.
The link in this unusual chain is Christy Manzinga — scorer of Motherwell’s fourth goal at the weekend — who starred alongside the trio of future full French internationals in the PSG youth ranks.
Another interested observer was Arsenal’s record £72million signing Nicolas Pepe, a former team-mate of Manzinga’s at Angers II, who liked and commented on the 24-year-old’s Instagram post which showed him celebrate his debut goal against the Perth side.
‘I played with guys like Kimpembe, Coman and Rabiot at PSG,’ Manzinga explained. ‘It was a good team. We won all our games. We were young and didn’t know what was going to happen in the future.
‘I still keep in touch with Kimpembe, and the other boys I keep in touch with on social media. My old team-mates look out for Motherwell’s results because I am playing here. They already know I scored against St Johnstone. My phone has been buzzing.’
A sickness bug left several members of Stephen Robinson’s Motherwell squad feeling under the weather.
But it was Saints counterpart Tommy Wright who was left shivering throughout his side’s latest defensive horror show.
After a dull opening spell, Jermaine Hylton lit up the match by skinning Anthony Ralston down the left flank. His cross was perfect for Devante Cole to head the first goal at the back post.
The game was beyond the visitors within just four minutes of the restart. Liam Polworth’s corner was met by Peter Hartley and, as St Johnstone’s defence stood and stared, the skipper’s header found the back of the net.
As Saints tried to get back in the game, Matty Kennedy and Ali McCann tried their luck but yet more grim defending saw the visitors fall further behind.
Declan Gallagher rose to meet another Polworth corner but the ball bounced off the post. The waiting Jake Carroll gleefully rammed it home for his first Motherwell goal.
Then came Manzinga’s big moment when he ran on to a knockdown from fellow substitute Mark O’Hara.
The DR Congo international forward, who joined from Belgian side Sporting Chatelet in the summer, cracked a fine finish low beyond Zander Clark to complete the rout.
‘It was a good moment for me to score my first goal for Motherwell,’ he smiled. ‘I’m really happy and it was good to get all three points.
‘I was struggling a little bit after I first joined. I scored a good overhead kick in pre-season (against Gretna) but then I was injured and out for two months. That was frustrating.
‘Also, it’s not the same type of football that I was used to in Belgium. It’s more intense and you don’t get as much time, so it was really hard at first.
‘Step by step, I’m learning. I’m not perfect but I’m more ready to play than before.
‘I am 24 but I am not a dreamer. I just want to work hard and see what’s going to happen with
Motherwell. I’m not thinking about a future with Chelsea or anyone else for the moment.
‘I just want to score goals for Motherwell. After that, if I play for Chelsea I will come back here and say: “Yes, I’m with Chelsea”’!
Motherwell remain in fourth place in the Premiership, three points behind Aberdeen.
But, on a day when the mercury dipped below freezing in Lanarkshire, the display by rockbottom Saints made for chilling viewing for their hardy band of fans.
Captain Jason Kerr admitted his side’s defending was not fit for purpose and agreed the signing of an experienced centre-back in January would help.
Wright’s men now head for Rugby Park on Wednesday night aiming for their first away win in the league in a year since beating
Dundee 2-0 at Dens Park last December 29.
‘It’s just not good enough,’ sighed Kerr. ‘We lost four terrible goals — three from set-pieces. There were seven balls into our box and we didn’t win one.
‘As the gaffer has said, we keep making the same mistakes every week. And, when we concede the first goal, you feel we are going to concede another because we are always losing the first ball.
‘It would be good to get an experienced player into the defence but I am not making excuses. Some of the goals we are losing are not down to inexperience. It’s down to poor defending and we need to cut that out.
‘Off the back of a defeat like this, you just want to get back on the pitch and make it all right. We will go to Kilmarnock hoping to do that. We need to get ourselves up the table. If we keep losing games like this, we will get cut adrift at the bottom and that’s not good.’