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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from News Talks EDB Oday.

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Speaker 2: With twenty five thousand turning up to watch the Wellington

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Speaker 2: Phoenix beat Wrexham one nill in their pre season football

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Speaker 2: friendly at Sky Stadium, Phoenix right on the edge of

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Speaker 2: the box.

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Speaker 3: That's time to truss Isco a moment.

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Speaker 2: For the Phoenix Loop Flower to.

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Speaker 3: What a moment for the young man. Didn't think it

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Speaker 3: was going to quite get to it and it was

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Speaker 3: a great little bit of play down the left hand

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Speaker 3: side and it's a fantastic ball just out of the

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Speaker 3: reach the goalkeeper. I don't quite know what he did

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Speaker 3: with it, did he get a touch on it at all?

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Speaker 3: But Flower two is there to do the rest and

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Speaker 3: that will be one he will remember for a hell

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Speaker 3: of a long time.

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Speaker 2: Indeed it will be not many would have known the

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Speaker 2: name yesterday, A few more do today. Luke Flower Jews

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Speaker 2: scoring the winner for the Phoenix early in the second half.

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Speaker 2: He was one of ten outfields at halftime as the

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Speaker 2: club's youngsters were given the opportunity to play the biggest

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Speaker 2: forty five minutes of most of their careers. Former Phoenix

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Speaker 2: striker Chris Greenacre is now Phoenix reserve team coach. He

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Speaker 2: was interim assistant coach for yesterday's game and actually took

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Speaker 2: charge in the second half because he knows the club's

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Speaker 2: young players so very well. He joins us now Greeney,

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Speaker 2: congratulations on the win. What was your message to these

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Speaker 2: young players as you sent them out for the second half.

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Speaker 4: Thanks, Painy. I think the week it was important that

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Speaker 4: we kept it as low key as possible. We probably

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Speaker 4: did less preparation in terms of Wrexham because it was

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Speaker 4: important that we kept the focus on the players and

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Speaker 4: all the hype and the social media around the game,

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Speaker 4: and rightly so it was huge for them, and it

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Speaker 4: was just trying to take the pressure off as much

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Speaker 4: as we could. And yeah, we just tried to keep

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Speaker 4: everyone like now some relaxed and more excited, I suppose

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Speaker 4: about the opportunity again, not trying to overall them because

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Speaker 4: you know, the the enormity of the challenge obviously, can

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Speaker 4: you know, could could harm them, So you know, it

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Speaker 4: was it was a relaxed, you know process leading into

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Speaker 4: the game.

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Speaker 2: So when you reflect on that second half in particular,

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Speaker 2: what what do you take greatest pride from?

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Speaker 4: I think it's the way that the boys kind of

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Speaker 4: went after Wrexham. We said from the kickoff that we

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Speaker 4: were we were just going to get the ball down

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Speaker 4: and play, not playing to sort of their strength, which

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Speaker 4: is their their height and their strength and their experience,

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Speaker 4: and and from the kickoff we just got the ball

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Speaker 4: down and played and tried to get as many players

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Speaker 4: as possible on the ball. I think it's beyond everyone's

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Speaker 4: wildest dreams that we would we would score so early.

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Speaker 4: You know, we'd recognize some of the movement patterns in

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Speaker 4: our process of how Rexham defended, and we got down

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Speaker 4: the left hand side and Ryan Lee's put a great

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Speaker 4: crossing and we had a few few numbers in the

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Speaker 4: box and had a lot bit of look but we

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Speaker 4: we knew we could get opportunities and you just kind

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Speaker 4: of hope that you take it. And thankfully Luke flowered

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Speaker 4: Dow was sort of Johnny on the spot and we

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Speaker 4: put the ball in the net. But to see the

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Speaker 4: players celebrate the way that they did, and especially in

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Speaker 4: front of the Yellow Fever, that's that's an experienced very

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Speaker 4: few people get to experience, and to actually do it

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Speaker 4: at that end of the stadium is pretty cool and

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Speaker 4: just to see them all together was was was a

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Speaker 4: wonderful sight, I think, and memories they'll cherish.

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Speaker 2: Forever and what a moment for them all, in particular

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Speaker 2: for Luke flowered you. He gets the final touch, he

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Speaker 2: gets the goal, he gets the headlines like this tell

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Speaker 2: us a bit about him.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, he's an up and coming young striker. He's kind

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Speaker 4: of a throwback kind of striker. He's comfortable with his

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Speaker 4: back to play. He's exceptionally quick. It's kind of one

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Speaker 4: of those players that doesn't look that quick but actually

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Speaker 4: in full flight when you you kind of you know,

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Speaker 4: raise against him, he's pretty quick with the ball at

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Speaker 4: his feet. And you know he's still got a lot

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Speaker 4: to learn, but he's a brave character, is at times

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Speaker 4: a real handful and I kind of quite like that

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Speaker 4: with him. There's I say, lots of work on but

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Speaker 4: you know, he needs to get himself into goalscoring positions.

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Speaker 4: We talk about this sort of every week when we

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Speaker 4: play against our opponents in the Central League. And it's

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Speaker 4: great that he took that on board to do it

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Speaker 4: against Wrexham and rightly so he's got all the plaudits

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Speaker 4: today and and I'm sure he didn't sweet sleep or

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Speaker 4: wink last night.

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Speaker 2: It's probably clearing his messages. And you say, you say,

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Speaker 2: Greenie that you know you keep their feet on the

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Speaker 2: ground during the week and tried not to get them

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Speaker 2: overawed by the occasion. But afterwards, did you you know,

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Speaker 2: allow them the moment, allow them to celebrate what they've done.

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Speaker 4: It was pretty incredible, actually I tell you a story.

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Speaker 4: But after the media stuff was done with the coaches

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Speaker 4: and I think Luke did an interview as well, all

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Speaker 4: the player is waited in the in the dressing room

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Speaker 4: for him and then as soon as he came in,

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Speaker 4: flowers and fire it came on and there was water

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Speaker 4: sprayed everywhere. So just to let them enjoy the moment.

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Speaker 4: But to see all his teammates and all his friends

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Speaker 4: wait for him and want to do that shows the

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Speaker 4: camaraderie in the team spirit that they've got themselves in

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Speaker 4: their dressing room, and yeah, it was it was great

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Speaker 4: to see. So again, really really proud of them the

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Speaker 4: way they dealt with the occasion. You know, we're under

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Speaker 4: no illusions of where it was I think the experience

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Speaker 4: that Rexham had, but where they were in pre season

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Speaker 4: and obviously where three quarters of the way through our

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Speaker 4: centrally campaign kind of makes it more of a level

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Speaker 4: playing field, I suppose, but it's it's a level that

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Speaker 4: they've never played for before and they'll be all the

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Speaker 4: better for that experience.

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Speaker 2: Just to finish screen, you see a lot of young

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Speaker 2: players you know they can they go not even a

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Speaker 2: young players going to make it. That's the nature of

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Speaker 2: elite sport. What do you look for in a young

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Speaker 2: player that tells you they might hear what it takes.

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Speaker 4: There's lots of things, you know, both on and off

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Speaker 4: the field. For me, you know basic you know, players

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Speaker 4: that are comfortable with the ball at their feet Initially,

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Speaker 4: for me, I think is a huge one. You know,

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Speaker 4: you can talk about tactics and all this kind of stuff,

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Speaker 4: but if you can't handle the football, that doesn't give

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Speaker 4: you the best start. And then lots of things attitude,

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Speaker 4: you know, towards their craft. It's really difficult for sometimes

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Speaker 4: young players to come into a full time environment and

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Speaker 4: what you see on a Saturday as a fan isn't everything.

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Speaker 4: There's a whole heap of stuff that go on goes

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Speaker 4: on during the week. You know, how the players are

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Speaker 4: in the gym, their lifestyle, their diets. There's a whole

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Speaker 4: heap of things things that go on, but everyone's judged

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Speaker 4: about what happens on a Saturday. And being a true

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Speaker 4: athlete in in probably any sport, at any high performance sport,

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Speaker 4: it's a lot of the stuff away from the field.

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Speaker 4: That's the important stuff. But that's not for everyone, and

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Speaker 4: that's hard, and it's a really difficult, difficult place to

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Speaker 4: be as an athlete, and it's not for everyone. But

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Speaker 4: the ones that overcome that give themselves the best opportunity.

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Speaker 4: So the ones that are kind of consistent over all

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Speaker 4: everything are usually the ones that give themselves the best chance.

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Speaker 2: Brinny, congratulations on the significant part you've played in the

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Speaker 2: development of the club's young players which lead to the

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Speaker 2: occasion that you've enjoyed yesterday. I really appreciate your time

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Speaker 2: this afternoon.

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Speaker 4: Thank you very much. TS Piney, thank you Chris.

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Speaker 2: Chris Greenecker. Yeah, club legend on the field and building

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Speaker 2: the next generation of players off that. He is the

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Speaker 2: he's the second team coach if you like. The reserve team.

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Speaker 2: They play in Central League in and around the Wellington

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Speaker 2: region and the central North Ireland and has been brought

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Speaker 2: on board at the moment anyway as an interim assistant

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Speaker 2: coach and the side's new assistant coach can get his

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Speaker 2: work visa. There is a new man coming on board

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Speaker 2: to assist gian Carlo Italiano, the head coach of the side.

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Speaker 2: The new right hand man is Kelly Guimardes. He is

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Speaker 2: a Brazilian and has spent the last decade or so

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Speaker 2: coaching in some pretty decent leagues in Brazil. He had

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Speaker 2: a successful nineteen year playing career in Spain, Japan and

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Speaker 2: the UAE. So he's the new man, Kelli Guimdes. So

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Speaker 2: we'll wait to see how he goes. But yeah, Chris

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Speaker 2: Greenaker doing some great things with the Wellington Phoenix reserve

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Speaker 2: side and helping out with the first team as well,

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Speaker 2: particularly with so many those young players they yeesterday, What

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Speaker 2: a moment for the day, twenty five thousand there at

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Speaker 2: Sky Stadium. You know, it's ten times more than most

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Speaker 2: of them would have played in front of before, if

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Speaker 2: not more, and they went out there and just played

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Speaker 2: without fear. Good on them, I reckon good on them.

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Speaker 2: What an occasion for them.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to News talks at B weekends from midday, or follow

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