Kiwi Players Elsewhere

Zac Jones (AFC Fylde | England)

11 replies · 1,157 views
10 months ago
Doing stuff that now makes him worthy of hs own thread.

From Niche Cache.

TNS have won the last four Premier Division titles in a row (as well as 13 of the last 16) and last year made it all the way through to the Conference League league phase, where they played against the likes of Fiorentina, Panathanaikos, and Djurgårdens. This is the club that underground kiwi hero Greg Draper had such a spectacular career with. Connor Roberts played every league game for TNS over the past three seasons but recently announced his retirement so the goalkeeper position is vacant.
Permalink Permalink
9 months ago
Niche Cache. Sounds like it's just a NZ holiday, and he'll sign for the TNS

Speaking of kiwi keepers in Wales, we’re still waiting on confirmation of Zac Jones’ next move after he left Haverfordwest County on a high. Hwest have already replaced him... but Jones remains in between. Probably because he’s been back in NZ for a visit (hence why he was unable to attend the Cymru Premier awards in person to collect his Golden Gloves trophy).

The Welsh media have pretty much told us that he’ll be joining perennial champs The New Saints (who themselves are yet to announce a replacement for their own long-serving goalie... keeping that plan on track) but we’ll just have to stay patient.
Permalink Permalink
9 months ago
Unless they are going to make them compete. I do t think Zac is going to New Saints
Permalink Permalink
9 months ago
Niche Cache - via news on Nik Tzanev signing at Newport

The Exiles (Newport County), as they’re known, have made six new signings so far with one of those being centre-back Lee Jenkins who previously played alongside NZ’s Zac Jones at Haverfordwest County in the Welsh top flight.

No word on what Jones is up to since he left that club but with The New Saints having signed another keeper and already having gotten into preseason it’s looking like that rumour may have been a bit presumptuous.
Permalink Permalink
9 months ago


Joins AFC Fylde in the National League North (6th tier) for the 25/26 season.

Thought he was going to go a bit higher than that to be honest, but hopefully he can continue his good form from Wales last season with Haverfordwest County.
Permalink Permalink
9 months ago
Niche Cache.
For those with long memories a little mention at the bottom of Cam Howieson's old girl friend & ex NZ age group international Laura Merrin 

That might not seem like the fanciest move he could have made but it means becoming a full-time professional in a very competitive league which is ultimately better for his development. He wasn’t full-time at Haverfordwest and he wouldn’t have been in a competitive situation with TNS (who won the league by 14 clear points in 2024-25... and that was a down year for them). Last season, Fylde’s main goalkeeper was Ben Winterbottom who was on loan from Premier League side Brentford. That loan is now over and he’ll instead spend the upcoming term with Barrow in League Two. Theo Richardson also played a handful of games in goal but he’s been released. That should also give Jonesy a clear runway to be the main man between the sticks.

Fylde goalkeeping coach Chris Neal: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Zac to the club. Zac is someone we’ve been tracking for a while, and across last season. He’s an exciting prospect, who we’re hoping to help develop even further into a top goalkeeper.”

For what it’s worth, Max Crocombe was the same age when he played for Salford City in this very same division. Crocs even managed a couple years away in the A-League before returning to the fifth tier and working his way up to where, at the age of 31, he’s about to play Championship footy with Millwall and is New Zealand’s number one. Former NZ U17s international Laura Merrin also played for several years with the AFC Fylde women’s team (before moving to Burnley in 2023-24 and then having a baby).
Permalink Permalink
5 months ago
Jones in goal for a 5-0 win, and they are 2nd in the n/s national league. Jones is only 23 so still along way to go in his career, hopefully he keeps playing well they earn promotion or he gets scooped up by a team in a higher league 
Permalink Permalink
5 months ago
Yeah as above posts he's playing at a level (English 6th tier) that Crocombe was playing at in his early-mid 20s. So who knows where Jones may end up. 

Though he will probably have Paulsen, Sims & Gray ahead of him in the years ahead re his AWs chances. Joe Wallis at WBA as well.
Permalink Permalink
4 months ago
Niche Cache. Early days but AFC Fylde a contender for promotion to the 5th tier.

It’s not often there’s room to dip all the way down to the English sixth tier but occasionally we’ve gotta make room to let the people know that Zac Jones has played every second for AFC Fylde since joining the club, keeping five clean sheets in 17 matches for the league leaders. It’s a very long season with a long way yet to go but the kiwi keeper has smoothly carried across the form he showed in Wales and looks set to be challenging for promotion if everything carries on the way its been going. That’s what we wanna see.
Permalink Permalink
2 months ago · edited 2 months ago · History
Niche Cache.
Jones, Jago Godden & David Ball! - all in 6th tier UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqz8gBhfdeo

Unusual instance to finish off this week’s edition... skip to around 1:05 in that video and you’ll see Jago Godden of Bedford Town scoring an own goal – glancing a free kick off his head and past his own keeper – in a 2-0 loss against Zac Jones and AFC Fylde. An own goal within a Flying Kiwis Derby. Not really what we wanted but it happened, there ya go.

In fairness to Godden, he hasn’t stopped scoring ever since he linked up with Bedford Town from Christchurch United so at least this way he was able to put the ball in the net without spoiling the clean sheet of a compatriot. He scored in four of his first six National League appearances, described by the Bedford Independent (in the context of scoring this own goal) as having been “nothing short of superb in blue thus far”. That’s not including cup stuff because he scored in a regional cup fixture too. They’ve played him in midfield (his main position), on the wing, and even up front. Massive impact already.

As for Jonesy, the former Wellington Phoenix and Haverfordwest County man, this was an eighth clean sheet from 25 matches as Fylde continue to march onwards in their promotion quest. They’re second as it stands, two points behind South Shields with an equal number of matches played. He’s been great all season having played every single minute. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1UuVc8sX68&t=2s

In that interview, Jones is asked about a brilliant save he made late in the 3-3 draw against Radcliffe that preceded the Bedford Town game. It was actually a double stop, the first coming off a touch from his own defender. Here’s a peek at that stunner...



But he did concede three that day and one of those was scored, wouldn’t you know it, by a former Wellington Phoenix buddy. Yup, old mate David Ball popped up off the bench for Radcliffe to score his fourth goal of the campaign. That’s as many as he scored in his last three full seasons with the Nix. Jones never made an A-League appearance for the Phoenix but he did sit on the bench seven times, backing up Stefan Marinovic at the end of the 2019-20 season (during the covid bubble portion after Oli Sail got suspended for his golf cart escapade). No obvious link between Jones and Godden, as the latter was too young to have come up against Jones in any National League exploits back in the day.
Permalink Permalink