MATTHEW Ridenton watched the Jets' breakthrough win over Western United on his laptop via YouTube in a hotel room in Vilinius.
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What's more, he couldn't have been happier - with the result and his location.
A proud Kiwi, the midfielder was in camp with the New Zealand team ahead of a friendly against Lithuania on the following Monday.
"To get the win was great," Ridenton said after his return to Australia and Jets training on Friday. "We have been close a couple of times and probably deserved - and needed - to hold on before that. Thankfully, the boys finally got across the line. It was really important to get the first win out of the way and hopefully build from here."
Ridenton earned his fifth cap in the All Whites' 1-0 loss to Lithuania.
That defeat followed a 3-1 surrender to Ireland in Dublin, in which Ridenton didn't feature.
The friendlies were the first under new coach Danny Hay and the start of the All Whites' 2022 World Cup cycle.
"It had been 18 months since we played and a new coach came in with new staff," Ridenton said. "We only had two training sessions. It was more to build the culture and start a new cycle for us. We have a lot of young exciting players coming through and it was good to be among the group.
"Danny was really clear with what he wanted and moving forward he is going to be very up front re what he expects from us. He is really passionate about New Zealand. We are trying to play a more possession-based game. The young players coming through are technically strong. We are building towards the future and hopefully we can start playing a nice, attractive style of football."
Ridenton hopes to add to his tally of national team games during the next international window in March.
The 23-year-old has a long way to go to catch his father, Michael.
"It's a huge honour to represent New Zealand," Ridenton said. "We didn't play a game for 18 months and sometimes the caps take a while to build up.
"My dad played 40 times for New Zealand but back then they had A and and B internationals. He was a defender and played in the 90s. He says, technically he wasn't as good as me, but I hear that he was hard as nails. He was a little too young for the 82 Wold Cup. New Zealand have only made it twice - 1982 and 2010. Hopefully we can build something now and go to the next one."
Ridenton arrived back in Newcastle last Thursday and was thankfully for the bye weekend.
Abdiel Arroyo (Panama) and Bobby Burns (Northern Ireland under-22s) were also away on international duty and missed the win over Western United.
"It is a long trip, nearly 24 hours on a plane, and it's hard to get back into the time zone," he said.
Next for the Jets and Ridenton are Western Sydney at home on Saturday night.
Ben Kantarovski partnered Steve Ugarkovic in midfield against Western United and Ridenton knows he has to work hard to earn a starting spot back.
"There is real excitement going over there and being with the national team," Ridenton said. "It is a real buzz. A new environment gives you motivation to push forward. When you come back to the club you hope you bring a bit of that buzz with you.
"Wanderers will be a big challenge. We played them in pre-season. They have a lot of new faces and have bought in quite a bit of quality from overseas. They have had a few young boys step up as well. Every team this year is going to be a big challenge.
"I don't think there are any easy games this year. They all bring their challenges. We just have to show up every week and have the fight and hunger we showed against Western United and Perth for the majority of the game."
