Former Auckland City defender Brian Kaltak has been given a second opportunity to earn a contract with Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners.
Kaltak (28) is trialling with the club during their pre-season programme.
Last April, he was invited to trial with the Australian club after he caught their attention while in a national training camp in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the FIFA World Cup Oceania qualifiers.
He had an impressive trial with the club but injury cut short his season and denied him the chance of a deal.
Instead, he signed for Adelaide-based NPL side FK Beograd.
Kaltak, the captain of the Vanuatu national team, was invited back for another trial with the Mariners and last weekend, he featured in the their 2-0 pre-season friendly win against the Wellington Phoenix.
Head Coach Nick Montgomery was pleased with the side’s performance against the Phoenix.
“It was a tough game as Wellington are always very organised and in general it was an even contest played properly by both teams,” he told the Mariners’ website.
“It was again a good opportunity to get minutes into the legs after a hard week of training and also expose more NPL boys to playing against A-League opposition as both teams made plenty of changes. Of course happy with the clean sheet and two goals as winning habits are important.”
Kaltak’s football career began with the Vanuatu Football Federation’s academy at Teouma before he joined his hometown club, Erakor Golden Star FC.
He moved to New Zealand where he played for Waterside Karori, Tasman United and Auckland City, for whom he played about 50 games after moving to Kiwitea St in 2018.
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