The Leader Nelson edition

Goalkeeper coach set for more game time

With Coey Turipa suffering his third injury of the season, Tasman United might be seeing a lot more of Tom Fawdry. He spoke to

- Tasman United ended their five-game losing streak by drawing with six-time champions Auckland City. Do you hope that result is the turning point in the season? Coey went off injured in the final six minutes, leaving centre-back Dan Allan to take the glo

The manner in which we competed against Auckland City was most pleasing. Our defensive organisati­on, discipline and concentrat­ion reached a new level and we hope to replicate and enhance this in our remaining fixtures. All of the players have taken a great deal of confidence from our performanc­e and we hope that we can continue to produce performanc­es of this standard.

It showed tremendous character and bravery from Dan. We had no hesitation to put Dan in goal as soon as we realised Coey was unable to continue. Dan was a fantastic presence throughout the entire game and demonstrat­ed once again that he is capable of competing with the best players in the league. Dan is always there for us in key moments and even in unfamiliar circumstan­ces.

I feel like I have a good balance in both roles. It doesn’t really feel like they are two separate roles, as I’m here to assist the team and help develop individual players in any way possible. I try to coach when I’m playing and help the team in our defensive organisati­on. We have a strong backroom team and a group of players that are willing to listen and apply our plan of action. The academy system in the UK is very well establishe­d, providing an opportunit­y for the best young players in the country to compete and showcase their talent. The increased profession­alism of youth developmen­t within the UK is significan­t in recent years, and there are a number of young players progressin­g from the academy system into the profession­al game.

We are a team in constant growth and have developed collective­ly and individual­ly. There is a distinct difference in the way that we are playing now in comparison to the opening games in the league. The players are executing the game plan and details within our game with more conviction and concentrat­ion. Without doubt, we have learnt several lessons along the way and have had to analyse every detail. Position: Goalkeeper

Occupation: Goalkeepin­g coach Date of birth: August 26 1986 Hometown: Horley, Surrey, England Previous club: North Shore United and Onehunga Sports

Instagram: tomfawdry8­6

 ?? PHILLIP ROLLO/FAIRFAX NZ ?? Tasman United coach Tom Fawdry watches from the bench during a National Youth League game.
PHILLIP ROLLO/FAIRFAX NZ Tasman United coach Tom Fawdry watches from the bench during a National Youth League game.
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