Matt Gould: New Zealand & Nantwich Town goalkeeper's remarkable journey
- Published
Matt Gould went on loan from Altrincham to Nantwich Town in October
Goalkeeper Matt Gould's pathway to international football has been far from conventional.
Just as one might expect given his far-flung family background.
His father Jonathan kept goal most notably for Coventry City, Celtic, where he was twice a title winner, and Preston North End before heading off to play in New Zealand.
His uncle Richard was chief executive both with Somerset and Surrey before taking on the same role at Bristol City.
And his grandfather is Bobby Gould, who aside from scoring prolifically for eight different clubs and managing Wales, orchestrated arguably Wembley's greatest FA Cup final upset when his Wimbledon 'Crazy Gang' beat Liverpool in 1988.
But Matt now has a tale of his own to match any of his forebears in the sport-mad Gould family.
For the last two games, and possibly a little longer yet, the part-time on-loan Nantwich Town goalkeeper and Wigan Athletic academy goalkeeping coach has been in Qatar with the New Zealand squad for their World Cup play-off qualifiers.
Called up as a replacement when one of the original squad had to pull out after testing positive for Covid-19, Gould got the surprise nod from the All Whites at the age of 28, as a result of the time he spent in the country as a youngster when his dad was player-manager of Napier-based Hawke's Bay United.
"I grew up in New Zealand from the age of 12. It's still a place I call home," said Gould. "For me to able to represent the nation is a very proud moment.
"I actually first got called up by New Zealand for an under-17s tournament, which was also in Qatar, and just missed out.
"I got injured and had to pull out but it's nice that they've kept me in mind all these years."
Gould's career began at Cheltenham Town and has so far taken in two Scottish clubs, Livingston and Stenhousemuir, FA Cup giantkilling success with Stourbridge Town along with Spennymoor United and Altrincham.
But, for the last four months, Gould has also been doubling up with Wigan - working under Gregor Rioch, son of former Scotland captain Bruce Rioch, as an academy coach. And, if it had not been for the Latics' flexibility, he would not have been able to take up his place in Qatar.
Matt Gould was non-league Stourbridge's goalkeeper when they reached the FA Cup third round in 2017 before bowing out at Adebayo Akinfenwa's Wycombe
"It certainly wasn't expected that any member of the coaching staff might be called up for international duty," he laughs. "So I have to thank Gregor for letting me go."
Gould, loaned out by Altrincham to seventh-tier side Nantwich in October, was basking in the glory of keeping successive clean sheets for the Dabbers when he got his latest international call.
The first job was to find someone to replace him at Nantwich, who quickly brought in one of Gould's own Wigan charges, 19-year-old Sam Tickle, on a month's loan.
Gould then headed to Qatar with his father, who has maintained his New Zealand links in between goalkeeping coach roles with West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Preston and most recently with Bristol City's academy.
Gould has so far been on the bench for the 1-0 win over Papua New Guinea, a 4-0 victory over Fiji on in which Newcastle United striker Chris Wood scored twice to break his country's international scoring record, then Thursday's 7-1 win over New Caledonia, when Wood bagged two more.
"It was a privilege just being involved," Gould said. "I was really pleased for Woodsy and the whole team as they're such nice guys. He and Winston Reid are probably the two best known players we have.
"Woodsy's just had that massive move to Newcastle, and Winston's had a great career at West Ham which could have been even better, but for injuries. He's still such a good player.
"It's just nice rubbing shoulders with that calibre of player and gives you the incentive to go on and try to achieve more yourself."
For the moment, after taking maximum points to top Oceania play-off qualifiers Group B, Gould's immediate ambition is to successfully see out next week's semi-final against Group A runners-up Tahiti and a possible final against the winners of the other semi between the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Then it would be on to an intercontinental play-off against the fourth-placed Concacaf side in June.
If New Zealand got through that, it would mean a return to Qatar for the World Cup this winter - for only the third time, after previous quests to Spain in 1982 and South Africa in 2010.
Three generations of sporting Goulds (from left) - Matt, father Jonathan, uncle Richard and the 'Gouldfather', Bobby
"It's hard to imagine how the next few months might pad out," he said. "But one thing Wigan liked when I joined them was that I was still playing. It helps keep me in tune with what the younger keepers need. And, if New Zealand were to qualify and I was to still be involved, then that would be great."
And what about the head of the family? Grandad Bobby Gould?
"He still keeps himself very fit," said his proud grandson. "He still goes running every day, at 75.
"I even got to play cricket with him last summer, for Portishead Second XI. We batted together and shared a big stand.
"We put on over 80. I got 81 and he made 31. It was great fun, really a memory to treasure."
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