Strikers News 2003/2004

Does the prospect of having a ‘cuppa’ with one of the Brisbane Strikers’ hottest young footballers appeal to you?

If the answer is "yes", then you can - well, sort of! The Brisbane Strikers Supporters’ Association can at least promise to provide you with the opportunity to make like the sophisticated types in those silly coffee commercials, solving all of life’s little conundrums while they gaze whimsically at a steaming mug of coffee.

How come? Because at Perry Park this Saturday night the BSSA, as part of its continuing production of collector’s items, will feature Karl Dodd in its ‘Brisbane Strikers Mug on a Mug’ collection. That’s right! The ace defender’s handsome visage and a brief profile of his football career can be yours on a coffee mug for no more than the $1 it will cost to buy a raffle ticket in the mug or, if you prefer a sure thing, by placing an order to purchase a mug for $25. The raffle will be drawn at half time in the game between the Brisbane Strikers and Newcastle United.

This classy piece of merchandise, with picture of Karl Dodd, is a genuine collector’s item because you simply will not find it anywhere else. And why would any Karl Dodd fan, or Brisbane Strikers fan for that matter, want to be without it? With this mug in your possession, any time you’re feeling weary or down, all you’ll have to do is boil the kettle, reach for your favourite mug and - hey presto - instant Doddsy to turn your mind to the inspiration provided by quality practitioners of the beautiful game! Or, if you have friends around, you’ll have the perfect conversation starter.

It’s got to be worth having. But if, for some inexplicable reason, a Karl Dodd coffee mug is not your cup of tea, how about splashing out the princely sum of fifty cents for a Karl Dodd and/or Daniel Dreger collector’s card? Dodd and Dreger are the two players featured in a series of cards, slightly larger than a credit card but far less damaging to your finances, that has already featured Stuart McLaren and Peter Grierson (spares are available, if you’ve missed them). At this price, they’re ideal for the kids who, if we get our way, will be able to collect cards of the whole Brisbane Strikers squad by the time the season is over. Perhaps they can even get them autographed.

So if, after reading this, you’re mad for a mug or a collector’s card why not go to the BSSA table at the north-western end of the ground (next to Abbotsford Road) before kick-off, or drop us an email at [email protected]?

Players and coaching staff might sometimes appreciate having a bye, for the purpose of resting injuries and taking stock of their situation. In fact, Brisbane Strikers player-coach Stuart McLaren has already gone on record suggesting that last weekend’s bye was useful to the Brisbane Strikers for exactly those reasons.

For supporters, however, there is seldom any upside - after all, it means that they must miss out on their weekly ‘fix’ of action. Worse than that, they are obliged to endure the worries about which of the other teams will steal a march on theirs, and which will leapfrog them.

Such was the lot of Brisbane Strikers supporters over last weekend. But, having scanned the results of the weekend’s fixtures, we are pleased to be able to say the damage to the Strikers’ top six status and aspirations is quite minimal.

Let’s dispense with the "bad" news first. There was never likely to be much joy for Strikers fans from the result of the fixture between Parramatta Power and the Marconi Stallions. Marconi were three points ahead, while Parramatta were one place ahead of the Strikers on goal difference, so any win was going to be a bad win. Sure enough, Parramatta’s 2-1 victory in a match marred by a shocking injury to Parramatta’s Andrew Durrante, following a reckless tackle by Brad Maloney, means that both clubs are now three points ahead of Brisbane.

However, Marconi have now played one game more than the Strikers, leaving them slightly vulnerable in third position, and facing the almost certain suspension of Maloney - one of their most experienced and influential players - for at least a week or two. Parramatta have now jumped to second spot, two points behind the rampant Perth Glory who continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 win in Sydney over Sydney Olympic.

With those two teams in the ascendancy, the NSL table is already taking on a predictable look Some BSSA members might remember Strikers’ assistant coach, Luciano Trani, telling a pre-season meeting of the supporters that, on paper, the NSL this season looked like becoming two horse race between Perth and Parramatta for top spot, with South Melbourne third strongest, and all but two of the other teams (who he didn’t name, but which we suspect were Wollongong and the Football Kingz) battling it out for the three other spots in the top six.

That is close to what we’ve got after round 6 - Perth and Parramatta running first and second, the Kingz and Wollongong bringing up the rear, and the other nine teams fighting out the four spots in the top six behind the leaders.

South Melbourne’s failure to beat Sydney United, emerging from Sydney’s west with a 0-0 draw, was probably one of the better results for the Strikers, who two rounds ago triumphed over South Melbourne at Bob Jane Stadium and upset the "on paper" predictions of most pundits. It appears that South Melbourne are still in an inconsistent, ‘feast or famine’ mood at the moment - belting in three or four goals one week, and none the next - and the longer they remain inconsistent the better must be the top six chances of teams like Brisbane. Currently, South are ahead of Brisbane only on goal difference. To make matters better, Sydney United’s failure to take more than a point means they remain a point behind Brisbane and outside the top six.

Northern Spirit’s 1-0 win away to the Melbourne Knights was probably not a bad result for Brisbane either, if only because had the Knights taken three points they would have been breathing down the Strikers’ necks, one point behind them. Instead, Spirit are two points behind and the Knights four.

The other result this weekend, Adelaide United’s come-from-behind 3-2 win away to Newcastle United, left Newcastle three points ahead of Brisbane in fourth place, but having played two games more. Enough numbers yet? Don’t be put off - it simply means that if the Strikers can beat Newcastle at Perry Park this weekend they will climb above Newcastle on the table, with two games in hand, and stave off whatever Adelaide United can achieve in their third fixture.

In fact, given the current situation regarding goal differences, a best case scenario for the Strikers for the coming weekend is that with a win over Newcastle they could climb to third spot. This will be important in order to set them up for the consecutive away fixtures that will follow.

Finally, the postponement of the Football Kingz versus Wollongong fixture simply left fans of those teams looking higher up the mountain towards the top six!

Here is the NSL table as it stands after Round 6:

Brisbane Strikers player-coach Stuart McLaren was reasonably happy with the effort put in by his troops in last Friday night’s 1-0 away loss to Adelaide United, and will use the opportunity created by having the NSL’s bye next weekend to rest his team and reappraise their situation.

"We’ll be calming it down a bit this week", he said today. "It has been a whirlwind period since before the season began, with getting a squad together, then playing the first five games culminating in that big game against Adelaide United. We’ll take stock and make sure people are fresh before fully getting back into training next week".

McLaren said that, generally, his young team had acquitted themselves admirably in the pressure cooker atmosphere created by the hype surrounding United’s debut game in the NSL and the big crowd of 15,500 who turned up to watch it.

"On the whole we did very well, but maybe one or two fared better than others", he said. "When we conceded the goal - and without being disparaging about any former players - previous Strikers teams might have crumbled and conceded three or four. If we are to progress to the finals, the players need to know how to handle these occasions. Given the lack of experience at this level of some of our players it was very pleasing (how well they coped)".

McLaren was keen to dispel any notions that the Brisbane team spent most of the game with their backs to the wall. He indicated that, contrary to impressions gained from some reports, his team gave as good as they got.

"People seem to be overlooking that we started the game better than they did", he said. "From the kick-off, one of their players stood on the ball - maybe it was because of nerves, I don’t know - but we broke away and had a chance in the first thirty seconds. (Early on) we had some good delivery into the box from the right hand side, and Louis Brain had a good chance with a header that, when he gets a look at the match video, he will think that he should have hit the target. We need to learn that we have to take our chances when we are having a good spell".

McLaren said that, having survived the opening onslaught from the Brisbane team, United came back into the match when Brisbane gave them too much room in the midfield. United’s midfielders, particularly Aurelio Vidmar and Ross Aloisi, exploited the space well to open up the Brisbane defence, which led eventually to Carl Veart putting the home side in the lead in the thirty-eighth minute.

During the half-time break McLaren and his assistant coach, Luciano Trani, set about rectifying the situation.

"We changed the emphasis and concentrated on shutting down in the middle of the park, and that turned things around", he said. "But we didn’t really quite keep the ball long enough to make our pressure count - we turned it over too quickly".

McLaren said it was this aspect of his team’s play (the propensity to give away possession too cheaply) that was presently concerning him the most. "I am happy, defensively, with the way the whole team is pressing, and we are giving up very few chances. But we are still trying to put together long periods of flowing football. We are still getting used to each other, and having to make little changes - like since Matthew McKay has been away - hasn’t helped".

McLaren also made special mention of the efforts last Friday of a player who has been rendered almost conspicuous by the improvement in his team’s defending this season - goalkeeper Jason Kearton. Kearton, he said, had made one or two excellent saves in Adelaide to keep his side in the game. This spoke volumes for the ‘keeper’s powers of concentration, given that he had seldom been called into serious action over the previous two or three games.

As the Brisbane Strikers enter their ‘bye’ weekend with a respectable tally of two wins, two draws and a loss from five matches against teams that are all considered serious challengers for the top six, McLaren said he was looking to rest and freshen up a number of players, particularly those who had played a full Queensland Premier League season before joining the Strikers’ squad.

There will, however, be a practice game at Perry Park at 4.00 pm this Friday against visiting Vietnamese team Danang. McLaren said he intended to use this match as an opportunity to provide a thorough hit-out for players of his squad who have not yet gained a great deal of match practice.

The Brisbane Strikers Youth team won the first 'local derby' against the Queensland Academy of Sports at Richlands Stadium today, running out 3-1 winners over a gallant QAS side.

The match was a tightly contested affair between two well-matched teams and looked to be headed for a draw after the teams went into the interval at 1-1.  However, a two-goal burst inside two minutes by the Strikers late in the second half settled the issue.

The Strikers had the best of the opening exchanges but were pegged back by the QAS for much of the first half.  Then, somewhat against the run of play and with the QAS  looking to play the ball out along their back line, the ball was charged down on the edge of the penalty area.  It fell to Chris Di Sipio who, with Sebastian Tatchell running a decoy, weaved his way into the box before neatly clipping a low, left-footed shot into the right-hand corner of the net.

The Strikers' lead lasted about ten minutes until the QAS looped in a high cross from the left which eluded the Strikers' defence before falling into the path of Chris Grossman.  The QAS player set himself for a half-volley which he despatched with ferocious power into the far corner of the goal - a spectacular finish which gave the goalkeeper no chance and brought gasps and cheers from the crowd of a couple of hundred.

The second half produced a rugged contest, but was looking a little sterile until Strikers coach Peter Tokesi brought on Dean Peltohaka and Russell Woodruff.  Peltohaka's pace and strength wide on the right immediately began to unsettle the QAS defence.

In fact, it was a move down the right which led to the game-breaking goal, as a Strikers player, probably Peltohaka, got in behind the defence in about the seventy-fifth minute and squared the ball across the goal where Woodruff, who had been on the pitch for what seemed like only seconds, was on hand to tap in with probably his first touch.

The QAS players had barely caught their breath after conceding this goal before they found themselves picking the ball out of the net again.  On this occasion, an inswinging high ball from the right led to all sorts of chaos and carnage at the back post.  A Brisbane Strikers forward lashed the ball across goal and it hit the woodwork and came down before Di Sipio blasted it high over the bar from right in front.  The referee, however, blew the whistle to signify a goal had been scored, ruling that the ball had crossed the line after hitting the woodwork.  The scorer was not identified by the ground announcer, but on the balance of probabilities it was most likely Peltohaka who got it, after doing a "Martin Peters" and ghosting in behind the defence.

The QAS never seriously threatened the Strikers' goal after that and the match finished 3-1.

The Strikers will no doubt be pleased to have taken the three points and registered their second NYL win in succession.  The QAS, though, produced a performance that deserved better than a loss by a two goal margin.  While we'd love to be able to name the standout players for them, our unfamiliarity with their team and the lack of a team sheet makes that rather difficult.  Suffice to say that their number 14, who played in an attacking role on the left, produced an eye-catching performance and gave Adam Webber and numerous others a torrid time of it whenever he got on the ball.  Their number 10, playing up front where most number 10s do, also had a hint of class about him, displaying some impressive close control and passing, good vision and an eye for goal.

For the Brisbane Strikers, Di Sipio and Tatchell look as if they could develop into a useful forward partnership, with Tatchell contributing speed and strength to complement Di Sipio's trickery.  Chris Scuderi also worked impressively in the midfield, making many incisive runs.  On several occasions he probably let himself down a little with the 'last pass' but he did enough to suggest that if he gets a chance at some stage of the season to play for the senior squad he will not look out of place in the NSL.

Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium proved to be its usual inhospitable self to the Brisbane Strikers tonight, as new NSL club Adelaide United marked its debut in front of 15,000 fans with a 1-0 win over the Brisbane side. 

A goal from Carl Veart in the forty-second minute was enough to settle what was, from the limited accounts we've heard to date, a tight and entertaining contest.

We will provide more details over the next few days, but in the meantime we suggest that if you wish to hear a first-hand account, you tune in to 101FM's Soccer Show on Saturday morning at 9.00 for an interview with Strikers coach Stuart McLaren.

South Melbourne coach Stuart Munro might have fumed about his team’s performance in their 1-0 loss to the Brisbane Strikers at yesterday’s post-match press conference, but his Brisbane Strikers counterpart, Stuart McLaren, simply viewed it as a case of a game plan well executed by his players.

When we caught up with him following his return to Brisbane on Monday, McLaren put a rather different perspective on things to that portrayed in southern media reports which tended to focus on the ineptness of South Melbourne’s performance.

"Luciano (Trani) and I had a game plan in mind", McLaren said. "Obviously we communicated that to our players and we were quite happy with they way they applied it. There is still plenty of room for improvement - we need to keep the ball longer and do more with it when we are pressing forward - but overall it was a good all-round performance and the commitment was excellent".

McLaren said that he and his assistant coach, Trani, expected South Melbourne to play with one of two team shapes - either with two up front, or with one player up front and one supporting from behind and either side. Sunday, they went with their 4-4-2 formation.

"We knew we would have an extra man across the middle with them playing a 4-4-2, and we were able to find the extra guy and take advantage of it. That created space for us and we were able to create chances".

McLaren said that, contrary to the impressions given by reports which highlighted South Melbourne’s missed opportunities in the first half, the Brisbane Strikers were always well in the game. He said his team had been able to take the ascendency in the early minutes before South Melbourne worked their way back into the match, partly due to mistakes by the visiting team. "If they looked dangerous it was generally through our own shortcomings, like holding on to the ball too long or bad passing", he said.

McLaren said that midfielder Louis Brain’s winning goal, which came just after the restart, had been created in a slightly unexpected fashion by left-footed striker, Joshua Rose.

"We managed to get Josh Rose through the inside-right position and he got into the box and played it across with his right foot, funnily enough", McLaren recalled. "Louis Brain had timed his run nicely and got beyond their defenders, and he tucked it into the corner from about ten yards, I think".

McLaren also paid tribute to his wide midfielders - Brain, Shane Stefanutto, David Pilic and Steve Fitzsimmons - for shutting down the South Melbourne midfielders and effectively snuffing out their attacks before they got started.

Then, as the match wore on, another factor that McLaren and his team had counted on helped Brisbane’s cause. As South Melbourne struggled to make headway, their supporters began to vent their frustrations.

"We spoke about that before the game"’ McLaren said. "We thought if we could go through the game and keep it tight their supporters would turn on them, and that would make their players nervous and unsure. Stuart Munro mentioned later on about some players not handling the occasion and that (the pressure created by the home team’s supporters) might have been one reason they began mis-hitting their passes. It provides a different kind of pressure. Here (in Brisbane), if we put the effort in the supporters are generally happy, and even happier if we come away with the win. I’m not sure what it is with them down there. Perhaps they are a bit full of themselves - expecting to win and be near the top of the table all the time - they just seem to expect their team to do well".

McLaren said that a pleasing aspect of the match for him had been the way forward Royce Brownlie shook off the effects of his recent knee surgery in his first starting role of the season. Brownlie played through 80 minutes with few signs of tiring, before being substituted by Warren Moon. Moon also performed well in his ten minutes of game time after overcoming a hamstring injury.

Having again confounded media pundits who gave his team little chance of emerging from Melbourne with any points at all, McLaren laughed when asked when he thought opposition coaches and the media would stop underestimating his team.

"That’s a hard one for me", he said. "We’ll just keep going about our business quietly - we’re happy to keep it going ‘as is’. We’ll eventually lose one and we’ll see what happens then".

But despite the coyness of his initial response to this question, the young coach could not resist a parting swipe which hinted that having people routinely dismiss the abilities and performances of his players continues to motivate him.

"I think people were inclined to write us off because they looked at our players (before the season) and didn’t know much about them", he said. "Maybe that’s a bit unprofessional, really - to think ‘I don’t know much about them so they must be rubbish’".

Brisbane Strikers’ player-coach Stuart McLaren is quietly satisfied with the clean sheet his team achieved in Saturday night’s encounter with NSL champions Perth Glory, but he believes they still have plenty of work to do to become as good a team as he wants them to be.

"I thought it (our performance) was good, but with plenty of room for improvement", he said today.

McLaren said that, as the match wore on and Brisbane’s blot-out of the Perth attack continued, the visitors became a bit despondent.

"There seemed to be a bit of frustration", he said. "They weren’t vocalising it much in what they were saying to each other, but you could see it in their body language whenever we broke one of their attacks up and you could hear the annoyance in their voices. But we were aware that the previous week they had been held for eighty minutes but still won 3-0 against the Melbourne Knights".

McLaren said this awareness helped his players to hold their concentration to the end. He said they had defended with a "business-like approach, not leaving things to chance, communicating effectively to make sure their runners were tracked".

Despite having got his hands on what had virtually become the club’s ‘holy grail’ of a clean sheet (after two seasons in which far too many soft goals were conceded), it is easy to get the feeling that the young coach is going to be a hard taskmaster.

McLaren gave the impression that it is the other end of the pitch that will occupy most of his thoughts this week. Without going into details, he said that there were a couple of individual aspects of the team’s play when going forward that showed up against Perth as needing attention. "We can be more potent in attack", he said with a hint of understatement.

Nevertheless, McLaren was willing to acknowledge the admirable way his new-look team had risen to the challenge of facing the champions so soon in the season.

"It was the hardest test we’re likely to face this early in the piece", he said. "The new lads have come in and done a really good job. Obviously, they were well aware that Perth are one of the strongest teams in the league, and they could have been expected to be nervous. But once they were out there they didn’t show it at all".

It was a game that, despite the lack of clear-cut scoring opportunities, was played from end to end at a rapid pace throughout the ninety minutes. And what was noticeable to Strikers supporters was that it was the Brisbane team who finished the stronger, putting the Perth goal under considerable pressure over the last five to ten minutes.

McLaren agreed with this observation and, in doing so, offered an insight into some key reasons behind his team’s unbeaten start to the season.

"It was a testament to the work that has been done in the pre-season on the pitch and in the gym with our strength and conditioning instructors", he said. "And also the way the players are putting the effort into training. They are ultra-competitive in the small-sided games at training - my shins are testimony to that. There is a lot of pride and competition for places, and anyone watching training last night would have thought we were playing for sheep stations".

When asked about his own performance in winning the home side’s man-of-the-match award against Perth, McLaren was typically modest, suggesting that his centre-back Karl Dodd would have been a more deserving recipient.

"I thought my performance was satisfactory, but not outstanding at all", he said. "On a couple of occasions I thought I gave the ball away cheaply when trying to play the ball forward. But defensively, I was happy to shut out Mori and Despotovski. They have terrorised us a lot in the past, so it was nice to keep a clean sheet".

Contrary to the expectations of many, McLaren also said that he thought the extra responsibility of coaching had exerted a beneficial influence on his playing.

"It has been positive", he said. "As a coach, there are one or two things that become a thorn in the side, so when it comes to game day and having 90 minutes to play, I’m really appreciating and enjoying the playing aspect".

Brisbane Strikers player-coach Stuart McLaren dined out on Perth Glory attackers last night, but will soon be dining out on Italian cuisine after winning the second Roman Empire Bar Restaurant player-of-the match vote in his team’s 0-0 draw with the NSL champions.

In a hard-fought and fast-paced contest which, uncharacteristically for these two teams, was dominated by defences McLaren narrowly won the man-of-the match vote ahead of his backline colleague, Karl Dodd.

McLaren showed that the extra responsibilities involved with coaching the team were certainly not affecting his form at this stage of the season as he virtually erected a brick wall on the right-hand side of the Brisbane defence, giving the likes of Bradley Hassell, Damian Mori and Tom Pondeljak precious little to get excited about.

For his troubles last night, McLaren wins a meal for two at the Roman Empire Bar Restaurant, located at Carindale, which sponsors the Brisbane Strikers Man of the Match award. The selection of the succesful player is made by a panel of five Brisbane Strikers Supporters’ Association members.

All votes for the man of the match (not just the five that were tallied last night) count towards the BSSA’s eventual player of the season award. If you are a BSSA member who was at the match last night and you wish to record your vote, please send an email to [email protected] or phone Alex Wainwright on 3279 2807.

In the meantime - bon appetite, Red Baron!

Perth Glory face unfamiliar ground this season with the tag of ‘Champions’ attached to the side for the first time in their history. After the 2-0 Grand Final victory over the then Olympic Sharks many thought the pressure would be off but once again the mass of supporters that follow the West Australian side through and through will get behind the team to try and beat the stand out favourites in Parramatta Power and claim back to back NSL titles, quite possibly the last of the national league in its current format.

Glory have once again lost of a group of players and despite a tighter budget this season have managed to halfway replace the losses of Harnwell, Deans, Gumprecht, Colosimo, Pryce, Edgar and Tarka. Championship players with Olympic Tom Pondeljak and Wayne Srhoj have filled the massive hole left by the departure of Gumprecht and Colosimo in the middle of the park,  whilst another former Shark in Jade North will take over the right back position that was held by Shane Pryce.

Former Socceroo and Sheffield United defender Shaun Murhpy has returned to Perth due to personal reason and will take up one of the vacant positions at the back along side either one time Glory triallist Matt Bingley (who was surprisingly let go by Newcastle United) or a championship player from 2002/03 in former Joey captain Mark Byrnes who for reasons unknown chose not to go for trials in Europe.  

Mich D`Avray has decided to loan local players to bolster the list for the season with a much needed back up striker in Shane Crampton, Scott Bulloch, Dean Apelgren and former Glory defender Aaron Cole in case injuries thin out an already short list.

 D`Avray has admitted in the press that they have focused on players that can fill the roles of various position on the pitch to cover for a short list which is a wise decision considering the lack of funds but Glory are also safe in the knowledge that a majority of the other teams are in the same boat or worse.

In the first match for Glory this season against the Melbourne Knights there seemed to be a lack of urgency with Srhoj and right back Jamie Coyne struggling, but once the team gels they should be more than enough of a challenge for any team in the league.

Damian Mori again leads from the front with either out of form Bobby Despotovski or on again off again Nick Mrdja partnering him. Pondeljak has settled straight in at the Glory and will again be seen as one of the Top 5 midfielders in the competition with his speed and skill whilst Matt Horlsey will again be a key for the Glory with his leadership and strength on the right.

Someone equal to Horsley in those departments, is Scott Miller. The 249 game veteran and one time Socceroo will miss the match against Brisbane but will be a key at the back for the Glory again if he stays fit with his tough tackling and immense speed.

Shaun Murphy was one of the best defenders in the English First Division over the last two years but his lack of pace is a problem. However the standard of the NSL being what it is, Murf should be a major problem for any striker in the league season despite his handicapped pace.

Australian Under-17 international, Matthew Hilton, today became the latest - and probably the last - player to join Stuart McLaren’s Brisbane Strikers squad for the 2003/04 NSL season.

The Strikers' Club Establishment Coordinator, Steve Wilson, today confirmed that Hilton had signed for the club and that the quota of players approved for this season by the Strikers' Board had now been filled.

Hilton, who recently returned from the FIFA Under 17 World Cup with the Joeys, finally brought an end to McLaren’s frustrating search for another out-and-out goal getter to bolster his forward line. That search had earlier seen a run of unsuccesful negotiations with Alex Moreira, Greg Di Losa and Michael Baird.

Moreira’s deal fell through when the Brisbane Strikers board elected not to accept terms made mandatory by the Brazilian’s visa conditions, while Di Losa informed the club last week that he had decided to hang up his boots. Baird, after trialling with the Strikers, opted to go to Sydney Olympic instead (on loan from South Melbourne).

Ironically, given Baird’s actions, Hilton has signed for Brisbane after spending last season with Sydney Olympic. He, too, had trialled with the Strikers before throwing his lot in with Olympic who were then coached by his former QAS mentor, Gary Phillips. Strikers fans who have watched a long line of players go to Olympic in recent seasons - including Jade North, Wayne Srhoj, Jeromy Harris and Clint Bolton - will no doubt be thinking that it’s nice to see someone moving in the opposite direction!

Hilton’s arrival at the Brisbane club can be expected to not only bolster McLaren’s senior squad, but also (if he misses out on selection for the seniors) the stocks of Peter Tokesi’s fledgling youth team, which has lost its first two matches in the NSL Youth League by the odd goal.