Samoa call up one-cap England back Umaga
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Press and Journal
9 hours ago
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen's former £2million striker joins new club in New Zealand
Former Aberdeen striker Sam Cosgrove has embarked on a new challenge after joining Auckland FC in New Zealand. The 28-year-old has joined the Black Knights from English League One side Barnsley, where he scored seven goals and registered six assists across 60 games. Cosgrove, who scored 47 goals in 103 appearances for the Dons before joining Birmingham City in a £2million deal in 2021, is relishing his new challenge in New Zealand. He told the Auckland FC website: 'I spent a lot of time researching the club before I made the move, and the more I heard, the more I wanted to join. 'What the club has achieved, the way the city has got behind the team, I was eager to be a part of it. 'I've had a couple of training sessions now and spent some time with the team. 'The culture and togetherness are outstanding. Being from overseas, I'm still adjusting, but everyone has been so supportive and friendly.' Auckland finished first in the A League last season to progress to the finals where they were eliminated at the semi-final stage by Melbourne Victory. Cosgrove joins the Auckland squad for Saturday's Australia Cup semi-final against Sydney. The Black Knights will then play a friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers next week. Auckland head coach Steve Corica is delighted to have the experienced Englishman on board. He said: 'Sam is going to be a great acquisition and will provide firepower to the front line. He's a proven goal-scorer and we're pleased to have secured his signature. 'He is a big, physical striker who I think will be well-suited to the league. He's also got a great deal of experience. We're looking forward to having him as part of the group. 'We're an ambitious group keen to improve on last year's performance, so right now, we're focused on building a squad to do that. 'That requires depth in every position and a team that fights for the right to play each week.'
Reuters
20 hours ago
- Reuters
New Zealand excited by return of forgotten midfielder Thomas
Aug 19 (Reuters) - After six injury-blighted years in Dutch club soccer, midfielder Ryan Thomas is set to make his long-awaited New Zealand return in a pair of friendlies against Australia next month to the delight of All Whites coach Darren Bazeley. Thomas, whose last international appearance was a friendly against Ireland in late-2019, was named in Bazeley's squad for the trans-Tasman clashes on Tuesday. The 30-year-old's return comes after a rare period of fitness that has seen him recover a starting role for PEC Zwolle in the Dutch top tier. Having the 19-cap All White fit and firing would be a major boost for New Zealand ahead of their return to the World Cup at the 2026 finals in North America. "It's like a new signing, almost, which we don't get, obviously, because we're not a club team," Bazeley told New Zealand media on Tuesday. "Having somebody of the calibre and quality of Ryan coming back into the team is great." Hailing from Te Puke, a small town renowned in New Zealand for its kiwifruit, Thomas made his professional debut for PEC Zwolle as a 19-year-old winger before reinventing himself as a holding midfielder. A move to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in 2018 was hailed in New Zealand as one of the biggest signings in its football history. It all went sour within days, though, as Thomas ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament at training and spent the next few seasons battling a succession of knee problems until his release from PSV in 2022. He returned to his first club but the injuries continued at PEC Zwolle, with another round of knee surgery wiping out much of 2024. Amid his struggles, Thomas opted out of playing for international football but was among the first to congratulate captain Chris Wood when the All Whites sealed their 2026 World Cup qualification in March. Bazeley has been patient with Thomas, saying he would keep the door open as long as he could before the global showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But he was pleasantly surprised the midfielder had made himself available for the September 5 and September 9 matches against Australia, having hoped he might return for away fixtures against Poland and Norway in October. "He was like, 'Man, I've never played against Australia and I really want to play against them.' So yeah, he's in, which is great," said Bazeley. New Zealand skipper Wood, who scored a double in Nottingham Forest's Premier League opener against Brentford, was also included in Bazeley's squad for the trans-Tasman "Soccer Ashes" inspired by the cricket contest between Australia and England.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Much improvement needed from Argentina, says skipper
Aug 18 (Reuters) - Argentina are going to have to improve both their discipline and defence if they are to bounce back against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship this weekend, warned captain Julian Montoya. The home side were handed a 41-24 defeat by the All Blacks in their opening clash of the southern hemisphere championship in Cordoba on Saturday and meet them again in Buenos Aires, with Montoya clear where they need to improve. "Our discipline cost us a lot of unforced errors, which gave them position and penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot with the penalties we were conceding, so when we look back on it, it hurts a lot," he told reporters. "After all that, credit to New Zealand. They're a good team who took advantage of every opportunity they had, and in the final minutes of each half, they scored very easily." Montoya said Argentina would need more focus at crucial junctures of Saturday's game, which will be played at Estadio José Amalfitani in the capital, after the loss in Cordoba. 'Many of our mistakes were made in the final minutes of each half, where they scored more points against us. So, those minutes are where we clearly have to do better. Last year, it was the early part of each half when they scored very easily against us. This time it was the other way around." Argentina fought their way back from 31-10 down at halftime to be only seven points behind with 12 minutes to go but then conceded two tries from lineout mauls to see any chance of a dramatic comeback slip away. "Clearly, the maul defence wasn't up to par. We have to improve, but we win together, we lose together, so we have to regroup, recover, look inward, and we'll come back,' the Pumas skipper said.
