Fire burns within as Musa commits
Whanganui footballer the first name on franchise’s list for 2019 Scrivener shows scintillating form ahead of finals
Whanganui football export James Musa has signed again with the Phoenix Rising Football Club in Arizona.
The New Zealand international has returned to the club for the 2019 season and, per club policy, the details of the contract will not be made public.
“I am delighted to be coming back to Phoenix in 2019 to build on the success we had in 2018,” Musa said in an in-house article by Phoenix Rising Communications.
“I can’t wait to link up with my new and old team-mates and get to work to achieve our goal of bringing back two trophies in 2019.
“The club epitomises what a top franchise in USL should look like. Not just from the player’s standpoint but the ownership, coaches, front office and, of course, the fans are all amazing. It’s an exciting time for football fans in Phoenix and 2019 is only going to be better!”
Musa signed with the club on March 1 last season and logged 2126 minutes in 26 appearances with the team.
He finished the season top 10 in minutes played for the club while notching one assist and 15 key passes during the 2018 campaign.
Musa missed the 2018 USL Cup playoffs due to a lower-body injury.
Over the course of his career, Musa has played professionally in Australia, New Zealand, England and the United States.
In 2015, Musa made his first USL appearance with Saint Louis FC, appearing in 54 matches over the 2015 and 2016 seasons, which included a brief spell in between seasons on loan with Team Wellington.
Internationally, Musa has appeared with the U20, U23, and senior national squads for New Zealand. He’s appeared in the 2011 Fifa U20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics, in addition to winning three caps with the senior national team. His most recent appearance came in September.
He played 26 minutes in a 6-1 firstleg victory over Solomon Islands in the OFC Final Playoff. He played 13 minutes in a 2-2 second-leg draw as New Zealand won the tie 8-3 on aggregate to advance to November’s World Cup playoff.
Musa is the first player announced for the 2019 Phoenix Rising roster.
Phoenix Rising FC is the highestlevel professional soccer franchise in Arizona’s history. The club is owned by legendary Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Advantage Sports Union chief executive Alex Zheng, executive chairman of Kona Grill Berke Bakay, and an impressive collection of business leaders and international celebrities. Aramoho lawn bowler Gavin Scrivener is in white hot form heading into Whanganui open finals weekend in 10 days time.
Scrivener has retained his form at the Summerset National Fours tournament in Wellington winning the final in a real nailbiter for the Dean Elgar-skipped composite side.
Elgar, who was teamed with New Plymouth West End clubmates Neil Candy and Bruce Hall along with Scrivener, defeated Michael Kernaghan (North East Valley) 23-22 in the decider.
With just two of the 21 ends remaining, it looked like Kernaghan and his South Island team of Roger Stevens, Andy McLean and Andrew Kelly were heading for victory as they led by five shots.
However, Elgar, who won the national singles title two years ago in a similar dramatic comefrom-behind fashion, had other ideas.
Scrivener played a major role in the comeback victory, but downplayed his part and praised his skip’s impact on the game.
One down on the head in the penultimate end, Elgar drove the shot bowl, dislodging the jack into the ditch for four shots. Kernaghan didn’t reduce that with his last and Elgar added the bonus to tie the game up with one end to play. Scrivener set Elgar’s team up superbly on the last end with two close bowls.
Candy drew the shot itself and the side then added the cover. Kernaghan’s team attempted to reach through on the narrow side without success and the skip’s first bowl, a draw, was short. Kernaghan changed to the wide forehand with his last bowl, running through the head. He moved the jack, but Elgar’s first bowl then became the closest and the championship winner.
“It was a close call and it was really down to our skip, Dean, putting the jack in the ditch. That was the winning of the game,” Scrivener said.
“It was great to be a part of the winning team and I’m pretty happy with my form, especially leading into Whanganui open finals weekend.”
Scrivener is already in the St Johns Club men’s singles final, and the Ryman Healthcare Pairs and Fours, while he is also in the Phil Corney-skipped Aramoho team to play in the rescheduled Ryman Healthcare Open Triples semifinal set down for finals weekend at the St Johns Club greens on March 16-17.
“I’m going to be fairly busy that weekend, especially if we get through the triples semifinal. I’ve got nothing on until that weekend, so it will give me time to freshen up,” Scrivener said.