Mark Paston

Mark Paston

He is on his way back to training:

Good.

Great news.  If he wasn't fit for the World Cup it'd be an absolute, unmitigated disaster.

Moss don't grow on ...

Watched Moss last week for Melbourne in the Asian Champions league.- was not great.

Personally Im getting a bit annoyed about some peoples comments on Pasty. I rate him and although I appreciate Reddy's help and remember the good saves from Moss I reckon Mark is a great keeper and deserves more respect. Ok now I feel better with that off my chest, sorry forr the rant.

His stats this season are pretty comparable to Reddy's last I saw.  He might not have that same vibe where he makes hard saves seem like a cakewalk, but he's still a great keeper and had a good understanding with our defense.

Can we lock this up before wellyphoenixfan catches wind of it and gives us stats as to how often Paston scratches his bottom per game?

Actually i haven't seen WPF since around the time Reddy started producing the goods for us. Coincidence?

You know why he (and maybe myself in the past) picks on Mark, its cause he makes the simple look hard and vice versa. 

He doesn't pick on Mark. He thinks he is god.

At the start of thr season Mark was the worst keeper in the league, but he got better and better as the season went on.
I think he is great.

worst keeper in the league?  Not even close.

He was good enough to get us into the World Cup, mate.

Yes exactly. As well as the penalty save, made some crucial saves to keep clean sheets for both legs. He's way good enough for me.

Paston isn't "great" but he certainly isn't "bad" either. He's better than any of our other options and I thought that this season, before he got injured, was the best he has ever played. valeo2010-04-03 17:39:34

Has done some dopey things, but by and large knows when to come to punch or catch, and had built a very good combination with the defence and was in the form of his life before he got injured. Had hardly had a questionable moment in months...

plus he's huge, which you can't coach for in getting that extra bit of height over the attack.

has been bl*dy good this year, and fairly decent, give or take the odd game, previously.

What you smoking dude?

uh oh... Tegal2010-04-03 23:24:00

TV1 cameras at Endevour Park today talking to Pasty & Bannatyne

watch it http://tvnz.co.nz/football-news/paston-working-world-cup-comeback-3451523/video

[QUOTE=George Costanza]TV1 cameras at Endevour Park today talking to Pasty & Bannatyne

watch it http://tvnz.co.nz/football-news/paston-working-world-cup-comeback-3451523/video[/QUOTE]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/features/6756800/The-Wellingtonian-Interview-Mark-Paston

All Whites and Phoenix goalie Mark Paston talks about his famous save against Bahrain, why he doesn't join in goal celebrations and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Did you always want to be a goalie?

I didn't start out as a goalie. I was a centre back. I grew up in Hawke's Bay and when I was 14 the rep coach needed someone to fill in as reserve goalie. I had the height and he picked me. I suppose he liked what I did, because that's where I stayed.

Is a goalie's lot a lonely one?

It can be, especially if you're not playing well. It takes a special type, especially at the higher levels. You can't make too many mistakes, and when you do, you have to be able to deal with that side of things. In some games you don't do anything. They are the hardest games. When you're being pummelled with shots, it's easier because you're involved.

It always seems a bit unfair to me. Goalies get far more criticism than praise.

Speaking as a goalie, I'd agree! You make 20 good saves, then miss one and that's the one people talk about.

Do you feel left out when your team scores a goal and everyone else is rushing around celebrating?

I don't get into all that. I'd be afraid that if I rushed all the way to the other end of the field to join in, they'd be finished by the time I got there.

You always seem very calm.

I suppose I am, but maybe not so much behind the scenes. As you get older you realise there's only a certain amount you can control, and there's no point in getting stressed.

In a penalty shootout, who is the pressure on � the goalie or the kicker?

The kicker, definitely. Any saves are a bonus.

You're most famous for saving the penalty in the Bahrain World Cup qualifying game in Wellington. That got the All Whites to the World Cup. Is that mentioned much?

It does get brought up from time to time. I just had a feeling and guessed right. It felt great to save it, of course, but my first reaction was to get on with it. It wouldn't have been much use if I'd let one through later.

That match was a huge occasion in New Zealand sport. Did you feel the pressure?

In the build-up, the pressure was there, but once you step over the line, you're in a bubble, focusing on performing. I block out the crowd. I know they're there, but I'm concentrating on my own performance.

In hindsight it was a bit of a miracle you went to South Africa for the World Cup finals?

It was in a way. During the previous World Cup, I'd been in Tahiti on honeymoon. I was thinking about giving away top football, then got a call-up from the Knights. That led to the Phoenix, then the All Whites. Then Glen Moss, our No 1 goalie, got suspended, so suddenly I was the All Whites' top goalie. Then I broke my leg, straight after that Bahrain game actually, and it was a scramble to be fit in time for the World Cup.

How about the finals themselves?

Everyone talks about the Italy game, but I thought my performance against Paraguay was better. It's nice to keep a clean sheet. We just couldn't score. Everyone was disappointed, which you wouldn't have expected a few weeks earlier.

You've had an odd New Zealand career.

True. I made my debut in Indonesia in 1997. A lot of top players were unavailable so Joe McGrath [the coach] asked me. I was snowboarding at the time, but when you're 20 you don't turn down a chance like that. It was a shambles, really. Bad preparation, a second-string team, an amateur set-up. It would never happen now. We got beaten 5-0 and it set some of the young guys' careers back. I didn't play for New Zealand again for several years.

How have you enjoyed the Phoenix?

It's been really good. We're all a bit gutted to be out of the play-offs earlier than we would have liked. There's a nice atmosphere at the club. The guys know each other well, and we like playing at the stadium. The Yellow Fever supporters are great.

You played professionally for three clubs in Britain. Was that a good experience?

Not as good as it could have been. I got injured three years in a row and needed three operations, so didn't play much. The crowds were big and noisy and enthusiastic. As a goalie I was expected to do a lot more long kicking than I was used to, and it led to my injuries.

I see you've got a couple of young children.

Yes, we have a two-and-a-half-year-old and a one-year-old. They give you different priorities. You get home and they don't really care if you've let one in or not!

Do you like Wellington?

It's different to Hawke's Bay, where there's more sun, less wind and it's a lot flatter. But Wellington has character. Things are close, and there's a nice feeling of unity.

- The Wellingtonian