Central Coast Mariners coach Nick Montgomery says Beni N'Kololo is starting to show his quality after he bagged another goal in the 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar.
The Mariners are priced at 9/2 to finish bottom of the ladder this season but they climbed away from the Roar at the foot of the table thanks to a crucial win.
Winning drought ended
The win was Central Coast's first since 18th December and it was new boy N'Kololo who got them on the way with a tidy finish in the 49th minute.
It has been a tough start to N'Kololo's Mariners career but Montgomery says he has bags of talent and with a little bit of confidence can go on to shine in the A-League.
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"He had an outstanding first game of the season against the Jets, then got a really bad ankle injury," Montgomery told reporters after the game.
"We thought he'd fractured it and he spent four weeks on the sideline, came back and then we had illness and then we have games off and games on. It was really difficult for him to get any rhythm.
"Then he was out of the team and he was coming on and trying super hard. He's just needed that confidence and we can see now he's a top, top quality player. He's very hard to deal with and put him in the box, he's lethal."
Looking up
Nicolai Muller scored the second goal in the 55th minute of the game before Juan Lescano pulled one back for the visitors.
Montgomery is now hoping his side can build on the win and start climbing the ladder after a horror run of results. But they have not been helped by star players being ruled out.
"At the end of the day we're just about getting the squad together," Montgomery added. "Matty Simon is still missing, a massive loss for us all season.
"We're hoping that he can make a return at some point. Just keep plodding on with what we've got."
