- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
As a manager with one of the smaller A-League budgets, Central Coast boss Nick Montgomery is often forced to find a diamond in the rough.
But the Mariners’ head coach looks to have unearthed another gem in the shape of towering 29-year-old Brian Kaltak, who is blossoming at ALM level after finally being given a chance to shine.
The Vanuatu international arrived at the Mariners as a triallist when the club was looking to fill the void left by the departure of Socceroos centre back Kye Rowles to Scottish side Hearts.
Kaltak looks to be a ready-made replacement and he was rock solid for the Mariners in their 3-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.
He cleared one gilt-edged chance off the line and cut plenty of others off before they even got to that stage as the Mariners secured just their second clean sheet of the season to move up to third spot.
“A clean sheet is really important and I thought we defended really resolutely,” Montgomery said.
“(Newcastle’s) Beka Mikeltadze is a top striker and you can’t give him a chance and we didn’t. Brian and Dan (Hall) were outstanding.”
Kaltak is making up for lost time after taking one of the more varied routes to the ALM.
Prior to arriving in Gosford, he had enjoyed spells in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, New Zealand and NPL South Australia.
He also won multiple caps for his homeland, who are currently ranked 164th in the world by FIFA, along the way.
The closest he got to an ALM gig before was a stint with the Wellington Phoenix’s academy over 10 years ago, with Montgomery surprised at how so many rival clubs had passed him by.
“Nobody gave him an opportunity but I’ve seen his desire to improve,” Montgomery said.
“He’ll be a big part of this club moving forward for the next couple of years.
“I think he’s really growing into the leader that I expect him to be.
“He’s a really powerful athlete, and now he’s getting a better understanding, he’s just a really humble, genuine guy and I’m really happy for him and the whole back four.
“They’re all starting to gel a little bit and that’s normal with a new back four.”
© AAP
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.