The Tackle: Happy Nestory Irankunda a good sign for youngster ahead of move

They unpack the big talking points from Easter.

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Happy Nestory

How great is it to see Nestory Irankunda playing with a smile on his face again.

There is no denying Irankunda is something special, with his prodigious talent there for all to see on Friday night when he scored a sensational hat-trick in Adelaide United’s 4-1 thrashing of Western United.

However, too many times this season, the 18-year-old attacker has seemed unhappy, and it has affected his performances and sometimes his attitude.

But when he’s on, he’s on. Now he must find consistency to not only play well more often, but also enjoy his football on a weekly basis.

Irankunda of course faces a huge challenge very soon when he leaves Adelaide to join German giants Bayern Munich.

This column remains firm in its belief that he would have been better off spending at least another year at the Reds.

However, that’s not going to happen, with Bayern more likely to loan him out to another club in Europe rather than send him back to the A-League.

It’s therefore up to Irankunda, hopefully with the help of a good support network, to prove he’s capable of succeeding in Europe.

Too often we’ve seen Australia’s best young talent join an overseas club when they aren’t ready. Daniel Arzani, Danny De Silva, Marco Tilio and the Kuol brothers, Garang and Alou, are all prime examples.

Then there’s Kwame Yeboah, who joined German club Borussia Monchengladbach as a 19-year-old in 2013 on the back of a handful of decent games for Brisbane Roar.

After floating around in Germany for a handful of years, Yeboah returned to the A-League in 2019 to join Western Sydney Wanderers.

Two years later, aged just 27, Yeboah retired from football to become a professional model.

Talk about a waste of talent.

Hopefully Irankunda gets the help he needs to avoid being another prodigy who comes home too soon.

Sky Blues the real deal

If anyone doubted Sydney FC’s title credentials, they shouldn’t anymore after the Sky Blues’ 2-0 weekend win over the Central Coast Mariners.

After losing their first four matches of the season, the Mariners had been near-unbeatable for several weeks heading into Saturday night’s match at Allianz Stadium.

However, they well and truly had their colours by the Sydneysiders, who should have scored another three or four goals such was their dominance.

Midfielder Anthony Caceres was superb for the Sky Blues, while young guns such as Jordan Courtney-Perkins, Corey Hollman, Jake Girdwood-Reich and Hayden Matthews continue to justify their selection over players with greater experience.

Sydney coach Ufuk Talay deserves a lot of credit for continuing to show faith in his squad’s younger players, as well as transforming the Sky Blues into a relentless team that won’t stop pressing their opponents.

It must be said that the Mariners seemed a little flat. Despite having had more than two weeks without a game heading into the match, Central Coast’s busy A-League/AFC Cup schedule before that might have caught up with them.

However, the Mariners remain one of the teams to beat this season, and will be intent on bouncing back by beating Melbourne City in Gosford on Tuesday night.

If they can do that, it will set-up an enthralling top-of-the-table clash next Saturday night between the Mariners and first-placed Wellington Phoenix on Saturday night, also in Gosford.

It’s not just the Mariners who have an important midweek battle, with Sydney travelling to Perth to meet the Glory on Wednesday night.

On paper, it’s a game Sydney should win, particularly with the form they showed against the Mariners.

However, the Glory are always tough to beat at home, regardless of where they are sitting on the ladder.

If the Sky Blues are to be considered genuine title contenders, they should dispose of the Glory.

Litmus test

We should know on Monday afternoon if the Western Sydney Wanderers have truly recovered from their recent turmoil.

On the back of plenty of emotion after a tumultuous few weeks on and off the park, the Wanderers beat the Glory 2-1 in Perth on March 16.

Then came the FIFA international break, which probably came at a good time for Marko Rudan’s team after what had been a taxing few weeks physically and mentally.

Now the Wanderers go on with the job they started in Perth, with the next step beating Macarthur FC in Monday’s derby at Campbelltown Stadium.

The fourth-placed Bulls have been consistent all season, and will be tough to beat at home.

However, these are the games the Wanderers need to be winning to show they are a genuine threat for the championship.

Let’s hope that there’s a decent-sized crowd for the Easter Monday battle.

While it’s a Bulls home game, you would expect the Wanderers to have more fans in attendance, and that could be vital in what’s looming as a tight affair.

Team of the round: (4-1-2-3) Ryan Scott (Newcastle Jets); Dane Ingham (Newcastle Jets), Nuno Reis (Melbourne City), Jake Girdwood-Reich (Sydney FC), Sam Sutton (Wellington Phoenix); Luke Brattan (Sydney FC); Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC), Zack Clough (Adelaide United); Nestory Irankunda (Adelaide United), Bruno Fornaroli (Melbourne Victory), Daniel Arzani (Melbourne Victory). Coach: Ufuk Talay (Sydney FC).

Player of the round: Nestory Irankunda (Adelaide United)