Soccer: The art of Malik

New Zealand Knights soccer player Malik Buari. Picture / Kenny Rodger

It's just as well Malik Buari's shooting is better than his geography. By the end of this A-League championship, it's entirely possible the goal Buari scored to nail the Knights' first win on home soil last weekend against Adelaide will still be the goal of the season.

There were all sorts of reasons the goal had special significance. Having gone through their inaugural campaign last season with a solitary win, at the Central Coast Mariners in round three, the 1-0 victory buried a giant bogey. It also means going into their third round game against top of the table Melbourne Victory at North Harbour Stadium on Sunday, the Knights are unbeaten with four points. There's much football to be played but they're off and running - and playing with a real sense of purpose.

Midfielder Buari, 22, Ghanaian born, London educated, an England under-15 and under-16 international and with four Premiership games behind him during his time at Fulham, acknowledged the goal's importance to the club and the team.

He also reckons he knew it was in the moment his right foot swung through the ball from the lefthand edge of the Adelaide penalty area. "As soon as I hit it, I knew it was a good strike," Buari said.

He'd had a crack in the first half from a similar location and the ball sailed across the ground for a throw in on the far side. What the goal showed, however, was that Buari had the confidence not to let his earlier effort put him off when the opportunity arose again, just three minutes from the end.

"I've seen Malik do that a couple of times, and from the other side on his left foot, so I was very aware he was capable of that," Knights manager Paul Nevin said. Nevin knows Buari well from their time at Fulham, where Buari spent time at the academy before advancing briefly to the premier league team.

Nevin was learning his managerial chops at the same time. The coach likes the mental toughness Buari showed when he had a second crack despite the first attempt going awry. "It's about taking responsibility, and belief in his own ability," Nevin said.

"It is very easy to pass square, to be safe, and what special players do is take responsibility when the pressure is on, and he's reaped the benefit this time."

Nevin was the link in Buari coming to New Zealand, with his career stagnating after leaving Fulham at the end of the 2004-05 season and doing a spell at Conference club Woking. But Buari dislikes flying. So what's he doing at a club whose every away game - and there's 10 of them this season - involves a flight across the Tasman?

"My geography was bad," he laughed. "I didn't think too much about it. In England it's mainly coach journeys so I thought it's going to be far but not actually flying. I'm not too keen, I just try to fall asleep."

He's also been pleasantly surprised by the standard he's seen. He was unsure what to expect given the A-League isn't exactly a headline grabber in England.

Buari's aim in New Zealand was to kick start his career which had been affected by a pelvic injury.

"At training I thought 'wow'. The kits, equipment, training ground, how we get treated on and off the pitch is like premiership standard in England. And the style of play suits me perfectly. I'm really glad I'm here."

Buari is on a one-year contract. The future is a bag of uncertainties, but he admits he'd like another crack at the premier league at some point.

"I would like to, no doubt about that. But with football you never know where you're going to end up so you've got to take it step by step. I don't want to put pressure on myself.

"I've just got to keep performing here, just concentrate on the next game, then the game after that."