Teenager Nestory Irankunda stole the show as Adelaide United came from behind to beat Newcastle Jets 2-1 in the A-League on Sunday.
In just his third substitute appearance for the Reds, the 15-year-old struck a superb free-kick in the 88th minute before fellow sub Hiroshi Ibusuki headed home an injury-time winner at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Following his heroics, Irankunda explained to Channel 10 how he found himself in the position of free-kick taker.
“I wasn’t expecting it to come from a free-kick, but the captain and everybody gave me the ball and gave me the belief to take the free-kick and I was really happy to take it,” he said.
“Last year I was playing under 15s and they put me on free-kicks.
“I just felt like I was there at the moment at my old club, taking a free-kick and I just hit the ball and it went in.”
1⃣5⃣-years-old.
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) January 30, 2022
Sixth youngest ever @IsuzuUTE A-League player.
Nestory Irankunda, take a bow 🔥#NEWvADL #WeAreALeagues @IsuzuUTE https://t.co/RLaUVRFyaq pic.twitter.com/kAuSGORiwj
Reds head coach Carl Veart was thrilled to see Irankunda deliver, praising both the player himself as well as the side’s more experienced players for showing faith in the youngster.
“We’ve got quite a few younger boys and they help each other out, but we’ve also got some really good experienced players that help them know what it takes to be a successful professional footballer,” Veart said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“Nestory is a very casual kid that is very blasé about things. As a coach when you’re coaching young players, it’s just important to let them go out and express themselves.
“A lot of the younger players after training stay behind and practise their shooting and their free-kicks. Nestory is always doing that.
“Credit to the senior players, they’re aware of his quality and that he can strike a ball very well and allowed him to take the free-kick.”
And what did Veart think of Irankunda’s celebration of flips?
“You’ve got to allow these young players to express themselves and be who they are,” he added.
“I’m just jealous, I couldn’t even get close to anything like that!”
At 15 years and 356 days, Irankunda is the second youngest player to score an A-League goal for Adelaide behind Mohamed Toure who netted at 15 years and 294 days in February, 2020.
After the come-from-behind victory, the Reds find themselves sitting third on the A-League table ahead of Friday’s clash with sixth-placed Sydney FC.