Central Coast Mariners head coach Mark Jackson lauded Arthur De Lima after the 17-year-old debutant came back to haunt his former club Brisbane Roar on Friday night.
It capped De Lima’s incredible rise. Up until Round 18 in the 2024 NPL season, he had featured just twice for Central Coast’s senior academy team, instead playing mainly with Under-20 outfit before establishing himself in the NPLM NSW side.
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Fast forward to Round 10 of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign, and the talent teenager scored the final goal in Central Coast’s win away to 10-man Brisbane.
“I said to him in the office… me and (assistant) Danny Schofield were sat in the office the other day and we had a little joke with him,” Jackson told reporters.
“We said ‘you’re from Brisbane aren’t yah?’. He said ‘yeah’. I said ‘did they let you go?’ and he said yeah. I said sometimes that comes back and plays in our favour.
“He is a young player who’s been working hard. He made an impact with us last year when we saw him. He’s been training with us regularly… and he’s earned that chance.
“I’m delighted for him and delighted for him to do that in front of his family as well.”
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On Central Coast’s academy players stepping up this season with Dylan Peraic-Cullen the number one goalkeeper and Haine Eames earning plenty of admirers, Jackson added: “There’s been a lot of talk this season about young players and stuff like that from other teams.
“I think it’s fantastic for the A-League that young players are coming out and making a mark in this kind of competition.
“We will continue to push that it shows what a good academy we have. We have belief in our young players at this football club.”
