When it comes to Adelaide United and Central Coast, this weekend’s elimination final bout could boil down to the battle of the kids.
The Reds and Mariners possess two of the youngest squads on average in the Isuzu UTE A-League. And time and again this season, it’s been the young brigade at each finals-bound side bailing their team out with goals proving crucial in the pursuit of points, and ultimately securing spots in the post-season.
Centarl Coast boast the second-youngest average age of any A-League Men’s outfit when considering players used throughout the campaign (25 years, eight days). Adelaide are third on the list (25 years, 128 days). Wellington, another finals side, rank first (24 years, 75 days).
Both teams have reaped the rewards from banking on youth in 2021-22 – and when the Reds and Mariners face off at Coopers Stadium on Sunday night, expect each side’s cohort of rising stars to show the desire to be the difference, as they have done throughout the regular season.
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THE MARINERS’ YOUTH IMPACT
Farrell sets up F3 Derby win with debut strike
It was an A-League Men’s debut to remember for Mariners full-back Jacob Farrell, who arrived in the box to head home his maiden Mariners goal – in the F3 Derby, no less.
Farrell’s finish added to Josh Nisbet’s opener – proving crucial with Valentino Yuel pegging on back in the 77th minute. The Mariners held on to win 2-1, to clinch their first victory of 12 in 2021-22.
Hall snares a gutsy point against Wanderers
Through the middle of the season the Mariners were dropping points left, right and centre with late goals conceded. But by April Nick Montgomery’s side had steadied the ship. Against the Wanderers on the road, Central Coast trailed by two goals to nil, with just 10 men on the park after Lewis Miller’s dismissal.
Béni N’Kololo pegged one back from the spot in the 64th minute, before 22-year-old Dan Hall ventured forward from central defence to score for the first time in the league and snatch his side a point in the 95th minute.
It wasn’t a win, but the Wanderers draw was one of the pivotal results which showed the Mariners had turned a corner ahead of the finals. They’ve won each of the five games that followed.
Kuol the difference in 1-0 win over Western
Western United are used to collecting 1-0 wins – but on their travels to Central Coast Stadium in late April it was the home side inflicting defeat on the green and black by that very margin through 17-year-old sensation Garang Kuol.
Brother of since-departed former Mariners star Alou, Garang has contributed three pivotal goals this season off the bench, none more so than his 80th-minute finish to snatch all three points from his side’s top-six clash with Western.
ADELAIDE’S YOUTH IMPACT
Irankunda sparks late Reds comeback
Nestory Irankunda was just 15 when he came off the bench for the Reds against the Jets in late January.
Adelaide received a free-kick in a dangerous area in the 88th minute, trailing 1-0 on the road. It was the 15-year-old who planted the ball and marked out his run-up.
Why Adelaide decided to put the responsibility of such a moment on the shoulders of such an inexperienced player was a question quickly answered as Irankunda whipped the dead ball into the back of the net with authority.
The Reds would go on to score three minutes later through Hiroshi Ibusuki to seal all three points.
Bernardo in stoppage time earns a point against ‘Nix
If you can’t win, make sure you don’t lose. It’s a classic adage applicable to football which Bernardo Oliveira put in to action in second-half stoppage time against Wellington in February.
The then-17-year-old is short in stature, but showed desperation to climb the highest at the back post to nod Josh Cavallo’s cross off the left flank into the back of the net to snatch a point against the ‘Nix. If Adelaide collected one point less this season, they would have finished fifth, and travelled in the first week of finals.
Mo Toure’s purple patch guides Reds to victory on three occasions
Three games all up for grabs. One teen sensation ready to make his impact..
Between February and March, 18-year-old Mohamed Toure was an unstoppable force.
On February 15 the Reds travelled to AAMI Park to face Adelaide United. Toure came off the bench with less than 20 minutes to play, gambled on a back-pass from Carl Jenkinson and forced a City error which led to the winning goal in a 2-1 triumph.
In early March, the Reds travelled to Perth and ultimately spoiled Glory’s long-awaited homecoming. Toure scored the second of two Reds goals on that day, powering down the right flank to slot home a sublime solo effort, giving his side a two-goal buffer they ultimately needed as Perth struck back in stoppage time. Again, a 2-1 win was sealed off Toure’s boot.
The following game he’d repeat the feat, this time at home, against the Jets, with it all square in the 88th minute. Craig Goodwin supplied the delivery, and Toure the finish as Coopers Stadium erupted.
Irankunda’s last-gasp winner sinks Mariners
Adelaide v Central Coast, Coopers Stadium. This weekend’s elimination final, and a classic encounter of the 2021-22 regular season decided by Irankunda at the death.
Along the Mariners’ streak of late collapses came a meeting with Adelaide which the visitors led 1-0 before the Reds mounted a comeback. Ibusuki pegged one back in the 52nd minute, and as the clock ticked into extra time, Irankunda seized his moment.
Lachlan Barr sparked the opportunity for Adelaide, holding up the ball in the box and playing it into Irankunda’s path in the box. The teenager hammered his strike past Mark Birighitti into the roof of the net, somersaulting his way into the headlines.
