Fijian player to spend season with United
By
ALISTAIR ARMSTRONG
A Fijian World Cup soccer player, Tony Kabakoro, was due to arrive in Christchurch late last evening for a season with Christchurch Mogal United. Kabakoro, aged 21, was a member of the Suva team that the United coach, Terry Conley, guided to victory in the Fijian inter-districts tournament at the end of last season. The . midfielder-forward will be available for the Christchurch team’s first national league match, against Mount Wellington, at Auckland on Sunday. He is thought to be the first Fijian player to play in the league.
Kabakora took the field as a full-back for Fiji’s humiliating, 0-13, Cup loss against
New Zealand at Auckland last year. Mr Conley is confident that his new charge will perform well here if he can adapt to the different climatic and ground conditions in this country. “He is a very skilful player and if he'settles down he could do very well,” he said.
“The Rothmans league is physically tougher than the national league in Fiji but he could do a job for us and improve himself as well. “If he plays, for us as well as he does in Fiji he will do us a lot of good,” Mr Conley said.
Meanwhile, Paul Wilkinson,' the English-import defender who has been at the centre of a row over whether he can leave United for
Invercargill Thistle got into further trouble with the club last week-end. Wilkinson absented himself from a pre-season match for United to go and watch the Adidas Challenge Trophy match between Dunedin City and Wellington Diamond United, at Dunedin on Sunday-. . ....
the former Cheshire League player has. since been fined ?50 by United for his action, which went against the wishes of Mr Conley. “With our last game before the national league coming up it showed a complete lack of. responsibility,” Mr Conley said. The New Zealand Football Association has ruled that Wilkinson should play-, for United despite his seeking a transfer to Thistle.
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Press, 10 March 1982, Page 42
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334Fijian player to spend season with United Press, 10 March 1982, Page 42
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