(Photo Credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Vanuatu captain Brian Kaltak has capped an incredible first season with Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners by winning the A-League Grand Final in Sydney.
Kaltak played all 90 minutes at the heart of the Mariners defence as they produced an outstanding display to run away 6-1 winners over regular season premiers, Melbourne City.
Scottish-born, Australian international Jason Cummings scored a hat-trick – including two penalties – as the Mariners upset the odds against a side that had finished 11 points ahead of them at the end of the league season.
For Kaltak, who only signed his first ever professional contract in 2022, the trophy further underlines his credentials as one of the top defenders in the division. Having been voted in the PFA Team of the Year last month, there is no doubt that the Vanuatu captain belongs at this level.
“It means a lot,” Kaltak told reporters.
“We’ve been trying to get the breakthrough, getting kids overseas, not just Australia and New Zealand but to get professional. It just didn’t happen.
“But now that I’m here and the first one, it’s amazing.”