Prolific goal scorer and former New Zealand footballer Paddy Breslin has died.
Breslin played four games for New Zealand in the 1960s and was a long-time club and representative footballer in Manawatū.
He died in Wellington on Sunday aged 77 after an illness.
Breslin has been remembered as a legend of Manawatū football and a sharp-shooting goal scorer.
Jim Pitt coached Breslin in the Manawatū side in the 1960s and remembered him well.
“He was a prominent player in the 1960s, a centre forward and a No 1 striker in the area at that time,” Pitt said.
“He was always very good at poaching goals and scoring goals.”
Breslin played for the Kiwi United club, which was then one of the top clubs, along with Thistle and St Andrew’s. All three clubs are now part of Red Sox-Manawatū.
Breslin played for Manawatū against touring international sides and scored a lot of goals for Kiwi United, Pitt said.
Kiwi United played in the Manawatū competition and in the Central League, and Pitt said the local competition was strong in those days.
“He always did his job by scoring goals and he enjoyed his game.”
Manawatū would play other associations such as Hawke’s Bay and Masterton.
According to New Zealand Football records, Breslin started his career in Wellington for the Marist Brothers Old Boys club, then moved to Palmerston North in 1964, joining Kiwi United.
He was picked for Manawatū and scored 54 goals in 32 games from 1964 to 1969.
He was selected for the North Island-South Island match in 1967 and earned a place in the New Zealand team for a tournament in New Caledonia.
He played for New Zealand again in 1968 in home games against Cardiff City and New Caledonia.
Overall he started in four games for New Zealand, scoring two goals.
Breslin was later in contention for a spot in the New Zealand team for the 1970 World Cup campaign.
Breslin impressed playing for Central League selections against Cardiff City in 1968, FA of England 1969, Jardines (Hong Kong) in 1970 and FA of Wales in 1971.
There were memorable results: a 3-2 win against Cardiff, a 3-2 loss to England, a 4-1 win against Jardines and a 3-0 loss to Wales.
At Central League level, Breslin played for Kiwi United except for a part season with Palmerston City, which is now also part of Red Sox, scoring 99 goals in 141 appearances in nine seasons, before coaching a non-Central League club.
He returned to the Central League in 1978 as player-coach for North End in division three, scoring in the opening game of the season to become the first person to score 100 goals in Central League football.
After the 1978 season his Central League record was 106 goals from 159 appearances.
