Just over 15 minutes remained in the Central Coast Mariners round seven clash with Western United, and Alen Stajčić was plotting the next move to help defend his side’s slender, one-goal lead earned by Giancarlo Gallifuoco in the 49th minute.

With Jordan Murray already introduced for Daniel De Silva in the 64th minute, the likes of Matt Simon, Milan Đurić, Ruon Tongyik and Michael McGlinchey all sat on the bench, ready to answer his call and enter the fray.

Turning to such veteran talent would not have been surprising – a move in keeping with the A-League’s prevailing notions of risk aversion when it comes to making personnel decisions in moments that matter.

However, when the fourth official’s board went up in the 74th minute, it wasn’t one of the quartet’s numbers that was displayed as the game’s latest addition but was, instead, the number 26 of scholarship player Josh Nisbet.

Joining the already afield Samuel Silvera, Gianni Stensness and Lewis Miller, it meant that – for a brief period before a rapidly tiring Miller was replaced – the Mariners had four scholarship players on the field when the three points remain well and truly on the line.

“Staj is massively interested in the youth,” Y-League boss Montgomery told FTBL. “You only have to look at some of the young players in the first team at the minute that are playing regularly.

“That just shows what we’re doing here.”

A veteran of over 400 appearances with Sheffield United between 2000 and 2012, Montgomery moved to Australia to play for the Mariners at the end of 2012 and made a further 116 appearances for the Gosford-based club.

Retiring at the end of the 2017/18 season, he then moved into an off-field role.

Retained by Stajčić upon his ascension to permanent status as the Mariners Head Coach, the 38-year-old serves as boss of the club’s Y-League side as well as serving as an assistant for A-League team – allowing him to take on a unique, and vital, role in mentoring players making the transition from junior to senior football.

 “When he [Stajčić] came to the club he wanted to keep me on as an assistant while bringing in Nahuel Arrarte, and the opportunity for the NYL came up,” explained the former Blade. “For me, in my career as a coach at the moment, I thought it would be fantastic if I took the NYL and then I was a second assistant with the A-League team.

“For me, it’s a quite unique position. It’s one where the young boys train early in the morning and then straight after I go and help with the first team.

“Any of the young boys are going from NYL and training with the first team it allows me to keep an eye on them and continuing mentoring them through that transition.

“That’s something that we’ve put in place that will really help in the future.”

One of the first to gain two-star status from the FFA, the Mariners have junior sides from under-eights onwards and also runs a women’s program from under 14s to seniors.

Though the spotlight has been somewhat stolen in recent years by the junior setups of Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC and Melbourne City, the 2009/10 and 2011/13 Y-League premiers do have one of the most historically successful academy programs in the A-League.

However, if the combination of the Mariners strong finish to the 2018/19  and beginning of the 2019/20 campaigns are any indication, a new generation of yellow-and-blue wunderkinder may be on their way.

“In terms of looking at the NYL, for me the biggest thing was recruitment,” Montgomery said. “Most of the boys are from around the Coast, which is fantastic, they’ve been around the club a long time. But we also went around the country, got a couple from Melbourne, a couple from Queensland and really casting the net to find the best talent in the country.

“The one thing that the Mariners are renowned for doing is the pathway into the A-League and beyond. You only have to look at the players that have been through this club and are playing in Scotland, the Premier League or in Europe.

“I don’t think there are many A-League clubs that can even compete with the players that have come through here and moved on. So that’s one thing that we’re proud of and we’re trying to get back to doing that.

“It’s not happened as much in the past three or four years, but if there’s one thing that I’m really passionate about doing it’s about creating opportunities in the A-League and overseas and that’s something we’re all working hard to do.”

Image Credit: Central Coast Mariners

One of the players found by the Mariners in their search around the country and an early highlight of their positive start to the Y-League has been attacker Alou Kuol.

Born in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, Kuol’s family moved to Sydney when he was four and then made the move to the regional Victorian city of Shepparton two years later.

Joining local NPL side Goulburn Valley Suns as a 12-year-old, the youngster quickly progressed through the club’s ranks and broke into the first-team whilst still a teenager – finding the back of the net 22 times in 2019 to lead the senior NPL Victoria NPL2 competition in goals.

Passed over by local clubs Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, the youngster briefly trialled with both the Mariners and Western United in the offseason before making the move to the coast.

Safe to say, he has settled in with aplomb; netting five times in the Mariners four Y-League games so far and proving a constant menace for his Conference B opponents.  

“Alou is a fantastic kid, first and foremost, his attitude is unbelievable,” said Montgomery. “In terms of potential? He’s got massive potential, like a lot of the boys in the squad.

“I think he’s the top scorer in the Y-League at the minute, and chances wise he probably could have had double, triple the number of goals. But he’s taking his time to adjust to the tempo of playing at this level.

“We got him on trial through a contact of mine and instantly I knew we wanted him at the club. He fit everything about the Mariners and since he’s arrived, he’s been a breath of fresh air. He works tirelessly and he’s a real credit in front of goal and I think he’s going to get better and better.

“It’s not easy getting boys from interstate. Fortunately, we’ve got somebody involved at the club that bought an apartment on the coast that allows us to house some of the players.

“Accommodation and jobs when they get here is something we have to take care of because, unfortunately, we don’t have them in a full-time environment – there isn’t investment in any youth teams around the country that allows you to do that – so we were pretty fortunate that we were able to get Alou in and we’re fortunate to have him at the club.

“Hopefully he can progress and there’s no doubt he’s got the potential to be an A-League player.”