With a flight to Germany on the horizon — as he begins life at Stuttgart FC — the Shepparton export's rollicking career with Central Coast Mariners came to a heartbreaking finish at the weekend.
The Mariners played out a thrilling elimination final against Macarthur FC, as they suffered a 2-0 loss at Central Coast Stadium.
A further 30 minutes of extra-time was needed to decide who would progress through to the semi-finals, with the league newcomer — which was reduced to 10 men — pinching a ride through to the next knockout phase.
Kuol, a former Goulburn Valley Sun extraordinaire, entered the fray in the 88th minute.
And it was not long until the classy operator was in the thick of the action.
Once Macarthur's Charles M'Mombwa opened the scoring in the 93rd minute with a header, Kuol had a chance to peg one back on the Bulls upon the restart.
The teenager produced a damaging run and was played in beautifully to receive the ball on the edge of the six-yard box, but his strike found the side netting.
A few chances followed in the next half of extra-time, but Bulls substitute Michael Ruhs’ classy counter attack goal in the 120th minute drove the dagger through the hearts of the home crowd.
“It's a gut-wrenching feeling,” Mariners coach Alen Stajcic said post-match.
The result on Saturday night brings an end to a fairytale season for Kuol and Central Coast.
Predicted to finish bottom of the table before the campaign started, the Mariners shocked everyone as they challenged for the title and ended the year in third spot.
And one of the cogs in the Mariners’ rise up the ladder was Kuol.
The Stuttgart-bound Kuol finishes the 2020-21 campaign with seven goals and two assists from 26 appearances.
Stajcic was proud of the effort from his playing group in a season that promised so little.
“It has been remarkable. I can't think of enough superlatives (for the players),” he said.
“They have brought this club up basically from the dead and they deserve bulk of the credit.
“We are only a small football staff . . . everyone pulls their weight and we have to make do with the barest of resources.
“For all of us to pitch in, fight for each other every week and bring this club up from almost the bottom of the ocean is a remarkable effort.
“From a coaching point of view, we are extremely proud of the group and how far they have come as players and how far they have grown as people.
“I don't think there would be too many people who would have predicted us to get into finals, let alone take it that far in a knock-out match.”
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