Kiwi Players Elsewhere

Max Mata (St Patrick's Athletic | Ireland)

452 replies · 129,348 views
27 May 23:03 · edited 27 May 23:03 · History
Both Kiwis started as Sligo win 1-0.

Full game Mata. But Pijnaker off at 33 mins so he’s obviously picked up an injury
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02 Jun 21:32
Sligo lose 2-0. Full game Mata.
No Pijnaker. Hopefully the injury he picked up in the last game isn’t serious 

They do play alot in the LOI so players likely need a rest every now and then
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09 Jun 18:08
Pijnaker is back. Him and Mata both start. A Mata goal would be nice 
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09 Jun 21:51 · edited 09 Jun 21:53 · History
coochiee
Pijnaker is back. Him and Mata both start. A Mata goal would be nice 
Came as close as hitting the woodwork, but no goal for him in a 1-1 draw. He and Pijnaker both getting through 90 minutes. His barren run extends to one goal in his last 687 minutes after his good scoring start. He did get four shots off but only one on target, twelve attempted passes but only seven successful and had twelve aerial duels but only won three, so was trying to be involved but not happening for him.

Pijnaker attempted 26 passes but completed only sixteen (so marginally better pass percentage than Mata: 62% to 58%), and had eight attempted long passes but only completed three.

Result leaves them eighth - one place and two points (with five better goal difference) above the relegation playoff spot - and Shelbourne sixth. Though Sligo are equal on points, GD, and goals scored with Drogheda one spot above them. Hopefully they can avoid relegation as Irish second tier shouldn't be where first choice All Whites play. Still sixteen games to go though.
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30 Jun 10:36


2nd placed side Derry City potentially lurking for Max Mata's services. Sligo rightly pricing him out of a mid season move, which would in turn strengthen a rival.

I do wonder if he caught attention from a club in England and if a suitable offer were to come through if they would take the same stand...

Would be a sideways move if it were to another LOI club. But hopefully there is some interest from further afield incoming over the next little while.
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30 Jun 19:34 · edited 30 Jun 20:52 · History
Assist and a goal on the day as Sligo go 2-0 up over Bohemians heading into H/T.

Assist - His first of the season.


10th goal of the league season for him too, after being stuck on 9 for what seemed like forever! Will post that when the video comes up.

**Edit**
Finished 3-1 to Sligo - A welcome result after last week's capitulation to UCD. 
Screenshot_2023-07-01-08-51-20-22_955f68c4df44ad6a86e46b05cf65099a.jpg 88.75 KB
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01 Jul 02:10 · edited 01 Jul 02:33 · History
Wonder if Sligo have a song about the wind & rain.
Mata off at 78 mins (3-0), and finished as a 3-1 win. Full game Pijnaker.

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04 Jul 08:30
Makes team of the week in Ireland for his goal and assist over the weekend.




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16 Jul 03:35
Mata with the 1st goal, as Sligo win 3-0.
Mata (11 goals) 1st= on the GB standings.

He came off at 81 mins (3-0). Full game Pijnaker.

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16 Jul 05:46 · edited 16 Jul 05:46 · History
Are we picking these teams are below a-league level? Its really hard to gauge. Id say the budgets are lower...
coochiee
Is it ever not raining in Sligo?

 
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21 Jul 02:45
From this week's Flying Kiwis.

Sligo bought a new striker this past week: Portuguese forward Pedro Martelo, a 23yo who once scored the winning goal at the European U19 Championships. Martelo was able to get the last ten minutes off the bench in place of Mata for a debut. Will be interesting to see how those two are used, whether they can play together in the current formation for example.

Would imagine that part of this move was to insure themselves in case an English club moves in for Mata.  
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21 Jul 05:04
Elemenop
Are we picking these teams are below a-league level? Its really hard to gauge. Id say the budgets are lower...
coochiee
Is it ever not raining in Sligo?

 


LOI is weaker by an absolute landslide
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25 Jul 00:50
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01 Aug 03:19
YoungHeartHM
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/shrewsbury-town-eyeing-transfer-swoop-for-internationally-capped-duo/

Interesting development. Possible double swoop for both Mata & Pijnaker to head across the Irish Sea to play for Shrewsbury Town in League One.
I hope he doesn't make his judgment from the 2-2 draw, Pijnaker making small errors leading towards both goals and Max not getting a shot off. Hopefully he makes a decision on form.
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01 Aug 04:28
coochiee
YoungHeartHM
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/shrewsbury-town-eyeing-transfer-swoop-for-internationally-capped-duo/

Interesting development. Possible double swoop for both Mata & Pijnaker to head across the Irish Sea to play for Shrewsbury Town in League One.

Are they Siamese twins (is that still a term?). 
Grasshoppers, Sligo and now Shrewsbury together.

Don't forget the All Whites. 👀

You think they'd both be on the verge of communicating telekinetically by now. 
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01 Aug 04:59 · edited 01 Aug 05:00 · History
I have a soft spot for Shrewsbury Town, partly because of the biscuits, partly because in This is Spinal Tap, Derek Smalls is wearing one of their shirts in the infamous "zucchini in the pants" scene

Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads



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01 Aug 12:22 · edited 01 Aug 12:23 · History


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02 Aug 05:26
Would be a great move. Kiwi strikers in the EPL, Championship and League One. 
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02 Aug 09:03
Sounds like Carlisle (also in League One) are interested as well, and a deal with either could happen quite fast with L1 kicking off this weekend.

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03 Aug 12:12 · edited 03 Aug 12:40 · History


Really good move for him that. Congratulations to him, and can't wait to see how he goes over in England.

Should see plenty of minutes given the Shrews seem to lack a bit of depth up top by the sound of it, but a long season ahead too for the lad. He's been playing since February, so it looks like there won't be too much time off until just under a year from now - Slated last fixture for the season (Not including potential promotion games, cup games or catch up fixtures etc) 27/4/2024.
That's a solid 15+ months of pure unadulterated football. 😅

Best of luck to him. 👏
3 year deal too!!
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03 Aug 12:18
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03 Aug 12:27 · edited 03 Aug 12:36 · History
There you go UK clubs do watch the LOI after all. Is Pjinaker next?

And good point YH about potential fatigue, given he's been playing since Feb this year at Sligo. The 46 game L1/L2 seasons can be slog as it is. And that's excluding any cup/playoff games. Wouldn't hurt at all, if he's only a bench player for the first few months. It will be a step up, and he will need some time to adapt.

Shrewsbury play Burton Albion (Crocombe) on 16th August. So could be an early season L1 Kiwi match up. From an AWs perspective good to see the Woodsman backups in Waine & Mata at a decent level in the UK. Hopefully they both go well this season. 

And good on Mata for plugging away through Estonia, USL & Eire. A reward for perservence.

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03 Aug 13:05
I wonder if he may become higher in the pecking order than Waine if League One suits him well. I'm not sure if Waine will be getting many minutes in Championship unless he really hits the ground running.
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05 Aug 13:13
No surprises I guess, no Mata.
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05 Aug 13:33
coochiee
No surprises I guess, no Mata.

Has he got a visa? What’s the wait on that usually? Many of our kiwis in the UK are dual citizens…


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05 Aug 22:49
1-0 win for Shrewsbury. Aiden Keena full game for Cheltenham 
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08 Aug 11:57 · edited 08 Aug 11:59 · History
From Flying Kiwis. Hopefully he gets a run against Leeds in the League Cup Thursday morena.

STFC head coach Matt Taylor: “Max was a player we've spoken about for the past three weeks and I went over to Ireland to watch him. We'd like to thank the chairman for facilitating that and Max's transfer over from Ireland. I was very impressed with what I saw. He has exceptional footballing intelligence, scores a variation of goals, is hungry to fulfill his potential and we fought off a host of other clubs to get him. I'm excited for the fans to see him in a Shrewsbury Town shirt. He is of course very talented but more importantly, he's the right type of person to fit within the group.”

Shrewsbury Town finished mid-table in League One last term. 12 out of 24 teams. This will be their ninth consecutive season in the division so they’re a very stable club. Never been higher than the second tier of English football but have existed since 1890. Most of their signings this offseason have been defensive which should help Mata ease on into his new club... and match fitness won’t be an issue since the Irish season began in February meaning he’ll be at mid-season levels from week one. It’s going to be a long year of footy for him though. Especially with further All Whites trips likely.
https://youtu.be/KtmVyFYaaJE

This is the third year in a row that Sligo Rovers’ top scorer has been sold. The Bit’O’Red have particularly made a habit of dealing with League One clubs... in fact the striker that Mata served his apprenticeship under last term, Aidan Keena, now plays for Cheltenham whom the Shrews coincidentally met on opening weekend. Also, Shrewsbury Town are in the same EFL Trophy group as Forest Green Rovers so there could be some Max Mata vs Jamie Searle battles incoming.

Despite getting the signing completed prior to the match, Max Mata wasn’t able to feature in Shrewsbury Town’s season opener though. Still gotta sort out that visa so he missed the 1-0 win over Cheltenham. Ryan Bowman scored the only goal early in the second half. Hopefully he’s ready for the League Cup match midweek.

Up Next: Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup at 6.45am on Thursday; then Stevenage vs Shrewsbury Town in League One at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
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09 Aug 18:51
Would have been nice to see, but unfortunately he's not in the matchday squad for the trip to Elland Road.

Not opposed to this slow introduction to matchday squads though. As stated he's been playing week in week out since the start of the year, so might just be relishing a new environment and taking it all in. No rush when there's still 8 months of football left to play...

No doubt he'll be seeing minutes before too long though.
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09 Aug 21:06
Shrewsbury lose 2-1 at Leeds
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