Alou Kuol is off to the big dance.
On Saturday night, the Shepparton export and his Central Coast Mariners side held on for a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the A-League semi-final versus Sydney FC, doing just enough to punch their ticket to the decider.
Having led 2-1 on aggregate heading into the match, the Mariners weathered a heavy Sydney storm for most of the game and came out on the other side smiling - along with the 20,059 fans at Gosford’s Industree Stadium.
Now, they can do it all again with a home grand final looming.
Kuol will meet Melbourne Victory - a club he trialled at but was snubbed by - in this coming Saturday’s decider, and the 22-year-old cannot wait to repay his club and its fans’ faith in him.
“It means everything to all the fans and the team for what we’ve done this season,” Kuol said in a post-match interview with 10 Football’s Tristan MacManus.
“It’s been a difficult season with all the travel and all that, so it’s good to have a home final for the fans and get them around like they were tonight. They were amazing so (I’m) happy for them.”
Though Kuol didn’t affect the scoreboard, he did play a pivotal role by pressing from the front and hunting down the Sky Blue defenders as part of the Mariners’ medium-block system.
In fact, most of his highlights arrived within a 60-second period.
Once the clock had ticked past the quarter-hour mark, Kuol received the ball inside the box with his back to goal.
He attempted a crafty touch and spin but turned into a cul-de-sac, where the ball was eventually cleared away.
A few phases later, Kuol was back on the ball, sliding teammate Christian Theoharous through on goal.
Theoharous returned the favour but Kuol couldn’t oblige as his one and only shot of the game was a loose swing which skidded well past the left post.
The Shepparton product was eventually substituted in the 58th minute as the Mariners looked to shore things up defensively, and give or take a few heart-in-mouth moments, the Coasters had sewn up the semi.
Kuol was ice-cold in his response to whether he thought he deserved more minutes, instead choosing to thank the spectators for their unwavering support on the night.
“I think the fans were amazing; I think you’d want to stay on as much as you can in front of these fans so just very happy that we could get the result tonight,” he said.
“Maybe not a win, but enough to go to the final so I’m just very happy and just give everything for the team so very good.”
The day before Kuol takes to the park for the A-League grand final, his younger brother Garang will take on the A-League All Stars for Newcastle United FC at Marvel Stadium.