Garang Kuol.
The nation’s most talented footballing prospect to emerge during the A-League era. Soon to take up his contract with the English Premier League’s richest club. So nearly the youngest since Pele to score in the World Cup’s knockout stages.
And still a super sub.
Kuol, 18, has three weeks left in Australia before linking with Newcastle United and likely being loaned out elsewhere in Europe.
The Socceroo’s homecoming from the world stage he is destined for took a little less than an hour on a sun-kissed afternoon in Gosford, one Australian star exchanged for another when Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery pulled the trigger.
A square-up goal by fellow Socceroo Jason Cummings kept the Mariners on pace with F3 rivals Newcastle after a sluggish start.
Garang Kuol with a shot at goal during the Mariners loss to Newcastle.Credit:Getty
When Cummings came to the pine after his shift, Mariners fans met both he and Kuol with a standing ovation.
With just his second touch, Kuol stood his man up and left him for dead. Almost instantly, the instinct that has led to a goal involvement every 36 minutes of his A-League career was there for all to see.
Soon to be one of Australia’s best-paid players, Kuol will be starting soon enough, Montgomery insists.
Just not coming in with jetlag, a World Cup comedown and a stomach bug that laid he and Cummings low, the latter subbed off fearing “his stomach would go”.
Jason Cummings celebrates his homecoming goal for the Mariners against Newcastle.Credit:Getty
“You want to start every player and Garang, he’s come off the bench and goes to the World Cup, doesn’t play much game time, misses four games,” Montgomery said.
“He’s constantly trying to catch up but no doubt at some point he’s going to start starting games, whether it’s now or when he moves.
“He just needs that run of not being taken away to an under-20 tournament, a World Cup — to be fair he’s been dragged everywhere.”
How Australian football capitalises on the Socceroos’ stunning run has drawn an offering from every man, his dog and then some in recent days.
Jets players celebrate Trent Buhagiar’s early strike in Gosford.Credit:Getty
A 7078 crowd for the F3 derby on a sunny Sunday afternoon on the Central Coast was regarded as a reasonable turnout, if not World Cup fever taking hold.
When Newcastle took a surprise 2-1 lead second-half lead through Georgian striker Beka Mikeltadze— doubling down on Trent Buhagiar’s 12th-minute opener — the denial of Josh Nisbet’s equaliser due to the VAR’s intervention to pull up a Michael Ruhs handball had Montgomery offering his own opinion on the Australian game.
“I honestly think we’ve got the VAR wrong here,” Montgomery said.
“If anyone watched the World Cup… if the ref didn’t give something in the middle of the park, they never pulled it back once unless it was a real goalscoring [situation] in the 18-yard box.
“I just think there’s got to be a bit of common sense… if we’re going to start pulling every goal back 30, 40 seconds then it’s going to be a long season.”
For Kuol and the Mariners, it was a long final 30 minutes. The traditional F3 derby has a new trophy at stake, a piece of concrete dredged out of the highway and mounted for the winner from this season’s three Mariners-Jets clashes.
Newcastle duly set their defence with quick-dry cement and Kuol’s Midas touch when goals are being chased was for once found wanting.
After a week that started against Lionel Messi and went within centimetres of a World Cup goal for the ages, the teen star still threatened a miracle moment when he took on several defenders and belted home a late shot, only for Jets keeper Jack Duncan to handle it with ease.
Kuol’s time, and time to start, is still to come.
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