Garang Kuol was handed a 'big test' on his full A-League debut and registered an assist ahead of his Newcastle United transfer. The Australian wonderkid featured for 67 minutes as Central Coast Mariners earned a comeback 2-1 victory over Sydney FC on Saturday.
Paulo Retre fired the visitors into an early lead at Gosford Stadium, but the Mariners turned the match around before the break with a quickfire double. Marco Tulio headed home a teasing Kuol delivery, before Dan Hall scored what proved to be the winner just three minutes later.
Kuol proved a constant menace to opposing full-back Diego Caballo, and almost scored with his final touch of the contest as his curled effort went narrowly wide. The teenager has three matches left with the A-League club before making the move to the Magpies next month.
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Mariners boss Nick Montgomery admits he was careful with the Kuol's minutes ahead of the World Cup, where the young forward featured twice off the bench. Montgomery insists he 18-year-old still has much to learn, but is confident he will develop into a 'seriously good player'.
He told Australian outlet The West: "I had to protect him heading into the World Cup. 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."
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