Finally, Garang Kuol was given his first Isuzu UTE A-League start and he took his opportunity with aplomb in Central Coast Mariners’ 2-1 win over Sydney FC on Saturday afternoon.
Before Kuol jets off to England to join Newcastle United next month, Nick Montgomery gave the 18-year-old a well deserved first league start and only his second in a Central Coast jersey – with his first also coming against the Sky Blues back in July during the Australia Cup.
And after the Mariners fell behind thanks to a Paulo Retre tap-in, a moment of brilliance from Kuol was enough to tip the game on its head.
His inch-perfect cross in the 35th minute found the head of Marco Tulio who nodded home the equaliser – making that assist number three on the season for Kuol.
“Look at that for delivery,” former Mariners boss Phil Moss said on Paramount+ about Kuol’s assist.
“He’s just lifted in between a couple of Sydney FC defenders… Again, Garang Kuol gets a split second to make a difference and boy, does he make Sydney FC pay.”
From there, it was the Mariners who held firm and came away with the chocolates, with Dan Hall scoring the go-ahead goal thanks to a lofted ball back into the area by defensive-partner Brian Kaltak.
Kaltak, who missed the 2-1 F3 Derby defeat to Newcastle Jets due to suspension, was back in the line-up and showcased why he’s become such an integral part of the Mariners defensive unit thus far this season.
His performance was awarded the Isuzu UTE Player of the Match, where he and Hall helped marshal Sydney’s fleet-footed attack brilliantly throughout the 90.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game, it was going to be a hard game,” Kaltak told Paramount+ post game.
“And especially for myself as well. I missed last week and then I got back… I was just trying to be positive for this game, especially for the team.
“If we come in first minute and we can clinch it, we will come out with a win… The amount of talented… and skilful players and opportunity where these players can individually create it’s a big plus for us…
“But look, we came out with the win and what else do you want?”
The Mariners had been porous defensively in their last two games, conceding five goals and were behind early after Vukovic parried the ball right into the feet of Retre for the opener.
But Kaltak was pleased with the defensive response after the opener.
“The back-line has been shaky, like up and down,” Kaltak said.
“We are trying to keep clean sheets every game and not concede goals in the first important minutes. That’s the most important thing we need to fix.
“But I’m delighted for the boys and for the win today.”
‘It feels a bit like that’: One step forward, then one step back for Sydney FC
Meanwhile, Sydney’s inconsistent start to the season continued, failing to back up their 2-1 win over reigning premiers Melbourne City.
All despite playing what midfielder Anthony Caceres believed was some of their best football all season in the early stages.
“Very disappointed, especially after that initial half-hour. I thought that was some of our best football this year,” Caceres told Paramount+.
“We got the goal and then we gave them two goals in quick succession so that killed us after that. They got behind the ball and defended well and limited us to very few clear chances.
“It was a fight from then on until the end of the game, so disappointed to throw away a comfortable lead initially.”
When asked if it was “one step forward, then one step back” for Sydney after their morale-boosting win last week, Caceres felt as if that was the case
“It feels a bit like that, it’s a bit frustrating, we beat the league leaders last week and we started off really well and we let ourselves down,” Caceres continued.
“We let them into the game and they’re a side that are very stubborn when they are in front and they defend well… It was hard from then on.”
Report – AAP
Central Coast wonderkid Garang Kuol capped his first A-League Men start with an assist in a 2-1 win over Sydney FC that was littered with flare-ups and controversy.
Kuol is bound for English Premier League side Newcastle United when the January transfer window opens and was finally let off the leash by Mariners coach Nick Montgomery and handed his first start.
The 6579 fans crammed into Gosford Stadium on Saturday got a glimpse of the young forward’s quality when he helped level the scores by setting up Mariners striker Marco Tulio for a 35th minute equaliser.
The teenager troubled Sydney leftback Diego Caballo all afternoon and his last touch before being substituted in the 67th minute was to fire a whipped shot agonisingly close to Andrew Redmayne’s goal.
“I had to protect him heading into the World Cup,” said Montgomery, who has just three more games to coach the 18-year-old before he heads off to England.
“It was a big test for Garang to start a game, there are a few actions where you can tell he’s still a kid who’s growing.
“In certain moments he’s devastating, in others he’s frustrating but he put everything on the line today.
“When he’s fully grown he’s going to be a seriously good player.”
Kuol’s starting debut was one of many talking points on Saturday.
After Paulo Retre had given Sydney an early lead, Mariners fans headed for the exit at the 20-minute mark in protest at the league’s decision to sell the grand final hosting rights to Destination NSW.
The club’s active support bay vacated their seats and held a banner aloft which called for APL chief executive Danny Townsend to resign.
Back on the pitch, and Sydney played some of their best football in the opening half an hour, until goals from Tulio and Mariners centre back Dan Hall in the space of two minutes gave the Mariners a lead they didn’t let up.
Hall and Sydney winger Max Burgess had a nasty first-half clash of heads and Sydney boss Steve Corica was frustrated by the officiating.
Corica claimed that the Sydney medical team had called for referee Jack Morgan to halt the game so Burgess could be assessed for concussion but that the official didn’t listen.
“The referee is supposed to stop for three minutes, we need to ask why (that didn’t happen),” Corica said.
“They’ve obviously rushed him back on but the game should have been stopped so we could’ve assessed him properly.
“At halftime he wasn’t well, you could tell he was concussed.”
Burgess’ headknock forced Corica into bringing on Adam Le Fondre but the forward was unable to find an equaliser for the Sky Blues.
Captain Luke Brattan rattled the woodwork and forced Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic into one diving save late on before tensions boiled over an all-in melee capped off a helter-skelter game.
