Aisa secures New Zealand club contract

PAPUA New Guinea international Patrick Aisa has secured a contract with New Zealand soccer club Hamilton Wanderers.
The Wanderers added the PNG international to their squad for the upcoming national league football season, drawing on coach Ricki Herbert’s past connections.
Aisa leaves for New Zealand on Monday to join countryman Tommy Semmy. Both will play for the Wanderers for the 2017-18 ISPS Handa Premiership.
The 23-year-old, who has made six impressive appearances for the PNG national team, caught the eye of Herbert when they worked together during his coaching stint with the PNG Under-23 national team in 2015.
Unlike many of his Kapul teammates, Aisa was not born into a family of football, but was eager to try to pave his own pathway in sport and try it out.
“In my family there is no other brother or sister playing soccer, it’s just me,” he said.
“I just wanted to be different in my family. I chose football just to be different and I was surprised that I was quite good at it. I just want to keep trying to do better and better.”
PNG men’s national coach Flemming Serritslev’s advice to Aisa, was simple – keep working hard.
Serritslev said the New Zealand league was physical, which was good for Patrick’s development but that would depend on how hard he worked at training and in learning the game at the professional level.
“Patrick is set to be a star of the PNG national team,” Serritslev said.