It has been a frustrating start to the year for Newcastle United teenager Garang Kuol, but he now has something to celebrate.
After a disappointing couple of months at Hearts, Kuol is currently on international duty with Australia, and has just scored his first ever goal for his country.
The 18-year-old came off the bench in their 3-1 friendly win over Ecuador, playing the final 13 minutes in Sydney.
Kuol came agonizingly close to scoring his first international goal at the World Cup, and now he has finally opened his account for his country on his fourth Socceroos appearance.
It was not the prettiest goal from the youngster, but he showed great positional awareness to get in the box, and managed to cleverly hold his run to ensure he remained onside.
The finish was a little bit scuffed, but he was still able to hit the back of the net to score his first goal since November.
Australian press delighted with Garang Kuol after first Aussie goal
Fox Sports in Australia have praised Kuol for his cameo, and gave him an 8/10 in their player ratings. That mark was only bettered by Harry Souttar and Jackson Irvine.
On Kuol, they wrote: “At just 18 years old he’s Australia’s fourth-youngest goalscorer…but he nearly managed to stuff it up from a metre out! First, there was a hint of off-side, and second, he almost contrived to deflect the ball AWAY from goal. Nonetheless, Kuol is off the mark, and sparked fantastic celebration from teammates and the fans. Let’s hope it’s the first of many goals in the green and gold. Came on with fierce determination to change the game, and did his job to perfection. He might be struggling in club-land, but this was the perfect tonic.”
Hopefully the first of many for Kuol
It is another landmark moment for Kuol, who is enjoying a crazy 12 months. He burst onto the scene last year with Central Coast Mariners, earned a move to Newcastle then represented his country at the World Cup.
Now he is on loan at Hearts, where it is not going completely to plan. The move there made sense given the Aussie contingent at Tynecastle, but Kuol is struggling for minutes under Robbie Neilson.
He has only started once since arriving on loan – and that was when he played centre-midfield against Rangers. Kuol was hammered for his performance by the media.
Since arriving in the United Kingdom, Kuol has not had much to celebrate. But a return to Australia has brought him delight, and this will hopefully be the first of many international goals.
This could be a defining moment for Kuol’s season – fingers crossed it can inspire an upturn in fortunes north of the border.
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