Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat heaped praise on recent signing Elvis Kamsoba as his side came back from 2-0 down to record a famous win in Gosford.
With Central Coast Mariners two goals to the good at half-time, courtesy of a pair of beautifully struck free-kicks from Andrew Hoole, Muscat decided to throw former NPL player Kamsoba on at the break.
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The 22-year-old, who signed for the club in early January after a successful trial period, responded in style.
His pace and direct play caused all sorts of problems for the Mariners back line as he teed-up Victory’s first goal for James Troisi within minutes of entering the fray.
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“He’s got to be complimented on his contribution. He was outstanding from the moment he stepped on, right to the death there,” Muscat said.
“The second goal as well; for him to stay out of the way of Ben Kennedy, not to get involved, it’s just a real big contribution.
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“He seemed to lift the players around him. Kenny (Athiu) had a spring in his step and James Troisi was unplayable in the second half. When the chips were down he really dug deep and contributed unbelievably for his team.”
Mariners coach Mike Mulvey admitted that the introduction of Kamsoba put doubt in the minds of his players, despite their half-time lead.
“We were spooked in the second-half because they put the young lad wide left and he changed their shape,” Mulvey said.
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“We have contributed to our own downfall with some of the decisions we’ve made. Key decisions at key moments in the game.
“At the end of the day, you have to give credit to Melbourne Victory. They came and they sensed a little bit of blood in the second-half and they went for it.
“In the first-half we nullified them, and they are very good players, but we didn’t do it for 90 minutes.”
