Jesse Randall is enjoying a breakout season. Photo / Photosport
Last weekend, Jesse Randall had probably the greatest 24 hours of his life.
On the Saturday the Auckland FC winger was the star of the Kiwi derby, tormenting the Wellington Phoenix with his pace, as he made one goal for Sam Cosgrove then scored the second himself, which was decisive in the 2-1 win.
Then, on Sunday morning, he got a phone call from national coach Darren Bazeley, telling him to get ready for a flight to Houston the following day, as a late call-up for the All Whites.
“It was pretty early on Sunday morning and a bit of a surprise when Baze called,” Randall told the Herald. “Obviously a very good surprise. He said there had been a few injuries and I was called up. We talked a bit about the game but he was mainly saying congratulations.”
From having nothing planned this week – “We had a few days off [from Auckland FC] so I was going to chill and hang out” – Randall is now in All Whites camp, preparing for the two biggest games of the year, against world No 13 Colombia and world No 23 Ecuador.
It’s quite a turnaround – especially as Randall had taken a call from Bazeley a week earlier to inform him he had missed the cut – but has come at the perfect time, with his confidence sky high after an impressive start with Auckland FC. While he is still a relatively new face in the All Whites, he is feeling a lot more comfortable.
“It’s obviously awesome to be around the boys again,” Randall said. “I’m starting to get to know them more. I played with quite a few of them growing up so it’s familiar faces and obviously [I’m] stoked to be in the environment again.”
Randall, who turned 23 in August, feels like a late bloomer. His talent was obvious as a teenager – as he turned heads in the National League and made the New Zealand Under-17 team – but it has taken a while to crystallise.
“Yeah, that’s [late bloomer] a good way to put it I guess,” Randall said. “I always played in New Zealand and wasn’t part of kind of an academy setup. I took a different route, I guess, through the Central League and the National League. I went to uni as well in America. A bit of an unconventional route.”
Randall played senior football for six clubs here – Island Bay United, North Wellington, Tasman United, Hawke’s Bay United and Wellington Olympic along with time at Northern Kentucky University and the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League (second tier in the US).
He was one of Auckland’s FC’s first signings and there were signs of his quality during last year’s campaign, though game time was intermittent. Now he is one of the main cogs, after an impressive pre-season which has translated to the opening four games of the season, with four starts, two goals and two assists.
“I had a tough introduction last year,” Randall said. “From pre-season, I had quite a few injuries and couldn’t really find my rhythm. This season’s different because I started playing consistently from preseason, got some good fitness, some confidence. I put in a lot of work in the offseason as well. Things are clicking now because of a combination of all those things.”
Auckland FC director of football Terry McFlynn agreed. “He’s a player with a bit between his teeth at the moment,” McFlynn said. “He went into the off-season with a point to prove and you are seeing the fruits of that labour now.”
The evidence was there last Saturday at Sky Stadium, as Randall was almost unstoppable in the first half, tormenting Wellington’s high line. He was central to the remarkable start, beating the offside trap then teeing up Cosgrove to tap into an empty net after just 27 seconds.
“It was pretty crazy, a bit of a blur really,” Randall said. “Honestly, we were all a bit surprised ... you can see us all half celebrating and not really knowing what to do.”
It was an almost identical scenario in the 34th minute, as Francis de Vries’ long ball again released Randall, whose pace caught the defenders in no man’s land. A precise touch took him ahead of his marker, a second drew the goalkeeper before an inch-perfect chip saw the ball in the back of the net.
“We had worked on that a lot leading up to the game,” Randall said. “We knew they played the high line. Franny put a few balls on a plate for me and I used my pace to get behind.”
There was almost another decisive intervention – Randall hit the post with a volley – while he was part of the second-half rearguard action, as Auckland were reduced to 10, then nine men.
What’s coming against Colombia on Sunday in Florida, then Ecuador next Wednesday, will be a huge step up from the A-League. Colombia have global names like Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Leon) and Davinson Sanchez (Galatasaray) in their ranks, while Ecuador’s midfield is anchored by Chelsea’s £100 million man Moises Caicedo.
However, Randall is not daunted.
“I see it as exciting. It would be such a cool experience, and I know I’ll look back on these games as fond memories. It’s such a cool opportunity, to get on the pitch with players like Luis Diaz and other great footballers. It would be awesome, hopefully I can.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.