Greive’s rapid rise from Birkenhead to St Mirren
IT all happened so fast for Alex Greive.
His debut for St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership came right after he was officially unveiled as a signing on January 18 – an announcement that had been in the pipeline for a while.
Two more appearances followed before he received his first All Whites call-up a week later, when a replacement was needed at short notice for friendlies against Jordan and Uzbekistan.
The 22-year-old striker made his senior international debut in the closing stages of the loss to Jordan, but impressed with the energy he brought as a late substitute, convincing coach Danny Hay he should start against Uzbekistan.
That never eventuated, however, as the second match of the January international window was cancelled when three All Whites tested positive for Covid.
But he took that setback in his stride, returning to St Mirren and scoring his first goal for his new club to secure a 2-1 win over St Johnstone at their St Mirren Park home. All of that happened in a little over three weeks and what made it all the more remarkable was that, as recently as August, Greive was playing for Auckland club Birkenhead United in New Zealand’s amateur Northern League.
His ticket to Scotland came after Birkenhead joined fellow Kiwi club Nelson Suburbs in securing a partnership with St Mirren, who are in their fourth season in the premiership after winning promotion in 2018.
Similar arrangements have been touted over the years all around New Zealand, but rarely have they led to a player signing and playing a key role as quickly as this one has with Greive.
Speaking to Sunday News after making his All Whites debut, he said his first appearance for the Saints had been ‘‘quite daunting’’.
‘‘It was the first time I’d played in front of 10,000 fans and it just felt really surreal. But I started to feel more comfortable with it and it’s just football at the end of the day, so you just get on with it and just do the same things, and you’re all right.’’
That pragmatic attitude has served Greive well in the seven weeks since he made his debut, where he has made five appearances in the premiership and another two in the Scottish Cup, where he bagged his second goal as a professional, against lower-league outfit Kelty Hearts on February 12.
He said it was great to have been playing so regularly – eight matches in 32 days — including that one for the All Whites.
‘‘You just go and you’re moving, and you don’t have any time to think about it, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. No time to overthink, but no time to let it sink in.’’
The rush of fixtures has slowed somewhat in recent weeks, but it is soon set to pick up, with Greive almost certain to feature in some capacity as the All Whites tackle the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in Qatar next month, where a place in June’s intercontinental playoff for a spot at the main event is up for grabs.
Greive is the definition of a late bloomer. He never played for New Zealand at age-group level and only turned pro for the first time at age 22, something most promising young players try to do while they’re still teenagers.
He went to the college system in the United States after he left Auckland’s Sacred Heart College, the first place he was coached by Hay, spending three seasons at Northern Kentucky University under another former All White, Stu Riddle.
But at the end of 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic raging on, he decided to stay in New Zealand, where he starred for Waitakere United under Paul Hobson in the old national league.
Last winter with Birkenhead, also coached by Hobson, he proved he was far too good to be playing amateur football, netting 19 goals to finish as the golden boot and the league’s MVP.
In June, he spent several weeks training with a handful of Kiwi professionals and got the word he’d be heading off to St Mirren.
So far, Greive has made a big step up look small and he already has several moments he’ll remember forever, not least of all, his All Whites debut.
‘‘It’s so special,’’ he said. ‘‘You dream of it, but you don’t really think that it can happen.’’
‘You dream of it [All Whites], but you don’t really think that it can happen.’ ALEX GREIVE