Every week it seems Pukstas is hitting another milestone whether it’s a more minutes, another start, an assist and more recently, goals. Hajduk have a good player on their hands. I assume, Pukstad is going to start drawing interest. He’s gotta be a shoe-in for the U20 WC squad.
I only thought he was okay last summer at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and he was poor at the Revelations Cup in September. but yeah, he makes the team just on the club form he’s on. but the HNL season extends into the U-20 WC, so who knows if Hajduk will release him? He’d have to miss 2-3 games
It looks as he's grown a few inches and gained a lot of muscle since U-20 quals. He seems to be the biggest player on the field.
Joining this party late, just want to say thank you to everyone who’s been contributing to this thread up to now! Seems like we could have a good one here.
Hajduk Split is my favorite team (if anyone knows how to change it to my the current club listed, please PM me!) and saw the whole match. Yes, he did look good. The bicycle kick was cool and a nice run off the ball to score on the header. Not to be Debbie Downer, but as already mentioned, this all happened after the opposing team played with 10 men. A lot of guys who did nothing for Hajduk the last two weeks (which they lost) suddenly looked like National Team material. But yes, he did look like someone with good technical ability and also looking forward to how he does the rest of the season.
Started in 4-0 loss: #DinHaj #AjdeHajduče pic.twitter.com/C6tEZaXpjA— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) February 26, 2023
Starts in cup match: #OsiHaj #AjdeHajduče pic.twitter.com/o2vxfZYE3w— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) March 1, 2023
Anyone who would like to watch the match live on YouTube can follow here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y52u1_dTI7E?feature=share
Started: #HajLok #AjdeHajduče pic.twitter.com/AwbRlxyS9s— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) March 5, 2023 2-2 in the 78th.
Started in 2-0 win: #OsiHaj #AjdeHajduče pic.twitter.com/9VYVrW6NY7— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) March 12, 2023 Assisted on the 2nd goal: 35 GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL 0:2 Dario Melnjak! Krovinović crossed from the corner, Ferro jumped the highest and headed the ball to Pukštas, who jumped higher than his keeper and headed it for Melnjak, and Hajduk's left back sent the ball past Malenica into the home team's net from close range. 90th Change in the composition of Hajduk. Ćubelić entered the game instead of Pukštas. https://hajduk.hr/vijest/gradski-vrt-osijek-hajduk-0-2/15675
TALENT OF THE DAYRokas PukštasAge: 18Country: 🇺🇸🇱🇹Club: Hajduk SplitPosition: RWB/LWB/DM/CM/AMPlayer role: box-to-box midfielderStrengths: pace, passing, work rate, tackling, technique, heading, versatilityFoot: bothSimilar type of player: James MilnerPotential: 8,5/10 pic.twitter.com/yg4qSGJu1z— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) March 14, 2023
Rokas, to me, seems a little more attack oriented than James Milner with the goals and assists he’s been able to generate. My observation… albeit from limited clips….. he’s more Weston McKennie. Rokas, much like Weston, has that supreme athleticism and aggressive defending/pressing. He wins a tackle or intercepts a pass and is immediate springing forward. His passing is direct and always towards goal and wins his fair share of headers, at 5”11”, much like Weston. Rokas has that energizer bunny to him but seems a little more purposeful that being just a disrupter. I mean way off on the Weston comparison but that’s what immediately comes to mind when I see his clips.
He has only one assist since his brace over a month ago, but it's mostly because of the players around him. Livaja is Hajduk's only legit player, with most of the others being of average skill level. To put it in perspective, Dinamo Zagreb (in first place by a mile) would still beat Hajduk with their second team. Overall, he's doing well for an 18 year old.
I know this is forum is for club talk and I wonder about this because it it is a club issue, but will Hajduk Split release Rokas for the U-20 World Cup? I don't know and I wonder how much the club values sending players to that tournament. The HNL season ends June 3 The U-20 World Cup starts May 20 The Croatian Cup final is May 24 (Hajduk is in the semifinals now) The last few HNL games are going to be pointless as Hajduk is locked into second. But it'd be tough to release him for a Cup final since he's a starter.
Pukštas had a golden chance to score in the 47th minute from several yards away, but couldn't connect. The play starts at 2:48 of the video:
Scored: 59 GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL 0:3 Rokas Pukštas! Benrahou je oduzeo loptu na sredini terena, dao je za Livaju koji se sjurio prema šesnaestercu, navukao dva igrača na sebe i dao idealno za usamljenog Pukštasa koji s 10 metara pogađa u bliži Rogićev kut. #ŠiHaj— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) April 1, 2023 Rokas Pukštas! Benrahou took the ball in the middle of the field, passed it to Livaja who rushed towards the penalty area, drew two players on him and gave an ideal pass for the lone Pukštas, who scored from 10 meters into Rogić's corner.
The goal: Rokas Pukstas scored his fourth league goal of the season as Hajduk Split defeated Sibenik 3-2! 🇺🇸[🎥: @SamoHajduk27] pic.twitter.com/vRa1z3FYtm— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) April 1, 2023
Started: #HajIst #AjmoBijeli pic.twitter.com/xB7CT8lCuB— HNK Hajduk Split (@hajduk) April 7, 2023 Involved in the 2nd goal: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL 2:2 Jan Mlakar. Benrahou crossed from a break previously won by Pukštas, and Mlakar bowed and scored his second goal in today's match with a header from seven meters. It's 2-2 late.
I didn't see the game as usual, so I'm going solely off the game summary video on YouTube. Three other plays he plays a huge part that I saw: 1) 1:10 mark of video- Breaks up a pass that leads to the opening goal. 2) 1:45 mark of video- Makes a nice run to get open and hits the post on a header from about 15 yards out. 3) 8:09 mark of video- Springs open for a header in stoppage time on a corner kick, but the game-winning attempt goes over the crossbar. Unfortunately, we don't see on video what led to the free kick goal described on the team Twitter account provided by @BostonRed. They're saying that Pukštas drew the foul (their verbiage could be better). In that case, he played a part of both goals, so that's pretty impressive for a youngster.
"Rokas Pukstas is the most efficient player in the HNL" says the title. The US U20 midfielder leads the Croatian league in shot conversion rate.Apparently another big game today -- created two goals, had a header off the post, another just over the bar.https://t.co/11gZjh2Fyj pic.twitter.com/Np3GyeZI4D— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) April 7, 2023