Adelaide United teenager Nestory Irankunda is one of the key figures in this week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access, titled Do Or Die. Watch the episode below.
The final whistle blows, and Adelaide heads drop. The fate of the Reds is confirmed: for the third season running, Carl Veart’s side fall at the final hurdle.
For the third season running, they stand and watch as their Semi Final opponents rejoice in booking a spot in the Isuzu UTE A-League title decider.
The scene is Industree Group Stadium in Gosford, home to Central Coast Mariners who, over two regular-season games and the two-legged Semi Final, had all the answers to Adelaide’s questions.
Leg two finishes with the Mariners holding a 4-1 aggregate lead over the Reds; Adelaide’s rampant attack scored just one Semi Final goal from the penalty spot just minutes into leg one.
The defeated Adelaide players wonder what could have been as the Mariners rejoice in front of their home fans.
One of those Reds is 17-year-old Nestory Irankunda.
Linked with a number of European giants and seemingly destined to become one of the Socceroos’ youngest-ever debutants, Irankunda is one of the most exciting prospects in Australian football. His eight A-League Men goals from 35 bench appearances and zero starts make him the most prolific U18 goalscorer in the competition’s history.
He came into the Semi Final as Adelaide’s wildcard; in the end, he was blanketed by a brilliant Mariners defence.
This week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access captures the words shared between Irankunda and Adelaide head coach Veart out on the Industree Group Stadium turf in the aftermath of defeat, amid the agony and ecstasy of one of the competition’s most special nights.
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“Head up, hey,” Veart says. “These are the things that make you stronger as a player, yeah?
“This hurt now that you feel, this is what you need to use to drive you.
“Well done, anyway. You f****g had a great year. Even (if) tonight it just wouldn’t go for you.”
“I hit the post…” responds a lamenting Irankunda. He’s reflecting on a half-chance struck from distance that beat Mariners keeper Vukovic, but crashed off the woodwork.
Inches to the right, and it would have been the strike to halve the Mariners’ leg two lead, and set up a nervy finish for the home side with 20 minutes to play.
“Yeah I know,” Veart replies. “It’s the way it goes, football can be tough at times. But that’s when you’ve got to dig deep and be true to yourself, okay?
“Well done, mate.”
Now comes an interesting off-season for Irankunda, with reports of Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter and Liverpool all showing interest in signing the 17-year-old.
But FIFA regulations will prevent Irankunda from moving abroad prior to his 18th birthday, which is in February of 2024, the month after the January transfer window closes.
It means Irankunda looks set for another season in Red. What he’ll target next is the transition from Adelaide’s super-substitute to a regular starter.
READ: Four of the world’s biggest clubs linked with Nestory Irankunda
He would do well to take on the lessons contained in captain Craig Goodwin’s summary of their Semi Final defeat to the Mariners to push himself forward.
The All Access cameras capture Goodwin’s post-match address.
“Don’t let this be acceptable,” he says.
“Don’t let it be acceptable that we’ve lost three Semi Finals in a row. It’s got to hurt more. It’s got to hurt inside.
“Then, we can really use that as the motivation to drive us on to more success.
“Throughout your career, you’re going to go through way more difficult moments, and way more s*** times than you are going to have good times, and you have to really cherish the good moments, and grasp them when they come.”
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Sunday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.
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