The New Zealand international, who dashed off to join his international teammates after Monday's 1-0 defeat against Sydney FC, was the star man for the Gosford boys and went desperately close to grabbing a spectacular leveller at the SFS.

McKinna was disappointed with the reverse but gushed praise for his pre-season recruit McGlinchey.

"Michael McGlinchey almost scored the goal of the century, but Clint Bolton has made a great save," said McKinna.
 
"The second half Michael was outstanding. I thought Nigel Boogaard was our most solid player over the 90 minutes but Michael in the second half was a different class. When he comes back from Bahrain we'll be looking for him to step up.
 
"I've said it all along Michael is going to get better, and in the second half he showed he could be one of the most exciting midfielders in Australia. He did a great job both setting things up and having shots."
  
McGlinchey believes he's feeling more and more comfortable in the Australian game.
 
"It's just a case of getting a few games running, I've played six or seven games now and I feel a lot more confident now than when I arrived, so its been a good start," McGlinchey said.
  
Matt Simon is expected to return for the Mariners in next Sunday's battle with North Queensland at Bluetongue Stadium and McKinna is looking forward to having him back on deck.
 
"You could beat around the bush and say we were fine, but we definitely missed him, so hopefully he's back next week, which he should be," McKinna added.