Te Puke teen and All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas is on top of the Dutch football world after playing a key role in PEC Zwolle's storybook upset of Eredivisie champions Ajax in Rotterdam.

Thomas scored twice in Monday's 5-1 win over the European giants and Thomas, speaking shortly before the team departed for a canal trip to a public celebration with the PEC Zwolle fans, said it's been a dream 24 hours.

Te Puke teen and All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas.

'It's been amazing,” says Thomas.

'I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. Maybe over the course of today it will sink in a bit.”

A big part of that wonderful experience has been the outpouring of support the 19-year-old has received from family, friends and fans in New Zealand.


'I got so many messages after the game and it's great to know there is all that support back home, it's a really great feeling to have everyone behind you like that.”

The dream outcome was secured after a rocky start for the Zwolle side, facing an early deficit against the recently crowned league champions, but a break in play after flares were thrown onto the pitch gave Thomas' team a chance to regroup.

'We started badly, we hadn't really touched the ball and the way we conceded from a corner we weren't happy with.

'Then when there was the break for the flares and we went back into the sheds and looked each other in the eye and said we weren't going to lose like this.”

From that point the game changed and Zwolle came out firing with Thomas spearheading a complete turnaround inside four minutes.

'It happened so fast,” Thomas said,

'The first goal I got a bit lucky but after the second goal the crowd went crazy and I went crazy, it was such an amazing feeling.”

From there Zwolle took a stranglehold on proceedings, adding two more goals before halftime and another after the break as they swept aside their more fancied opponents - something Thomas said will boost the team of ahead of next season's tilt at European competition.

'It gives us confidence to know we can play like that against Ajax and we'll take that confidence into next year.

"We've got the playoff game for the Europa League and we'll look take that on and try to get through that knowing that we can play at that level.”

After his key role in Monday's performance, Thomas has put the world on notice that his level, like that of his team, is rapidly rising.