Moss lands on his feet

Despite the disappointment of being suspended for the All Whites clash against Bahrain on Sunday, life is good for Glen Moss, who is now settled in with his new A-League side Melbourne Victory. Fred Woodcock reports.

Glen Moss answers the phone in his usual jovial manner and before you know it the boot is on the other foot with the questions coming this way.

"How are the All Whites shaping up?" he quizzes.

"Is there much interest in New Zealand about the game against Bahrain?

"What do you know about the Bahrain team?"

We eventually reverse the roles back to how they should be but Moss is clearly missing being out of the international action.

New Zealand's No1 goalkeeper will miss Sunday morning's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain through suspension for abusing a referee – a match that would have been the biggest of his life will be viewed over the internet from his St Kilda apartment in Melbourne.

"I'll be sending a few of the boys some emails wishing them luck."

Instead, he has another big game to contemplate, albeit on a much smaller scale.

His new club Melbourne Victory takes on rivals Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium tonight in what is undoubtedly shaping as the match of the round, and it will be the first time the former Wellington Phoenix stopper has lined up in arguably the A-League's most anticipated clash.

"The supporters are quality, playing in front of 20,000 people every week is amazing, and from watching the Melbourne-Sydney games last year the rivalry is the biggest," Moss says with obvious excitement.

"The atmosphere in Etihad with the roof closed is unbelievable so it's going to be a big night. I can't wait."

Moss is gaining more confidence by the game in Melbourne. After two seasons, he left the Phoenix in career-best form but he had big boots to fill, with Michael Theoklitos having played a major role in Victory's two A-League titles in 2007 and 2009.

"Coming to a new club it's always going to take a little while to settle in, but now I'm feeling more settled," Moss says. "Obviously I want to be an important part of the club and the goalkeeper always is, so it's nice to have settled.

"I love it here, the club is amazing. Right from day 1, walking through the facilities, the environment here is top class and having a fulltime goalkeeping coach is helping my game a lot. I think the move here will make me a better keeper."

Despite initial nerves over meeting Victory coach Ernie Merrick, he has taken a shine to the wily Scotsman heading the A-League's most successful club.

"I love the way he plays, he just loves to play football. He always encourages the boys to go forward and attack and really entertain," Moss says.

"It's probably a bit surprising for some people watching him on match days as he's got that serious look on his face, but off the field he's a really approachable guy and he has a great relationship with the players.

"I was a little nervous before meeting him but he's a warm and friendly guy."

The defending champions have had their fair share of hiccups so far this season. Skipper Kevin Muscat was injured, midfielder Billy Celeski suffered a serious knee injury and then striker Danny Allsopp left for the Middle East.

There they are though, sitting one behind leaders Sydney after nine rounds.

"We seem to be firing up front now and causing teams a bit of trouble," Moss says.

"At the moment one of our goals is to firstly make the finals, and once we do we'll look at it from there. But on paper, and the way we're playing, things are really coming together." No regrets on the move, then?

"No. Of course I miss the boys I've played with, especially the All Whites boys. I had a lot of happy memories from Wellington."

And what does he think of Melbourne, where he rents an apartment with his partner, Melissa? Well, learning the rules of the main football code in town – Australian Rules – seems to have been his biggest challenge.

"I think I've got the hang of it now but the season has just finished.

"It's pretty entertaining if you actually sit down and watch it, so I've caught on to it, and living in St Kilda has helped. The whole town was abuzz making the grand final."

Grand-final footy is something Moss hopes he will experience with his own team come March 20.

- © Fairfax NZ News