Former Leeds United starlet Ryan Edmondson is enjoying a new lease of life alongside ex-Elland Road coach Mark Jackson in Australia and scored a 22-minute hat-trick for Central Coast Mariners in the AFC Cup this week.
When Ryan Edmondson was brought off the bench with half an hour remaining during Tuesday night’s clash with Cambodian outfit Phnom Penh Crown, the task bestowed upon him would have been to seal the win, and fire the Mariners to victory.
It’s fair to say the one-time Leeds United starlet did just that, and then some.
Hat-trick hero Ryan Edmondson
Edmondson, who followed Jackson Down Under after bringing an end to a difficult spell at Carlisle United, needed only a few moments to make his mark, slotting in a first ever Mariners goal with a cool right-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Edmondson’s second was all his own work. Outmuscling a defender off the ball, rounding the goalkeeper, and slotting into an empty net. And – insert your own London bus pun here – after waiting nearly a month for his first Mariners goal, three arrived at once, Edmondson curling in a classy third while completing his hat-trick in double-quick time.
“Since he’s come into the club, he’s settled really well,” Jackson, the former Leeds Under 21 coach, tells the Mariners website. “Ryan is still developing from a goalscoring point of view. We’ve got a lot of work to do in certain aspects of his game.
“But I’ve known Ryan for many years, I know he’s got the capacity to score goals. He’s got a fantastic attitude and he’s certainly settled into the group really, really well.”
Former Leeds duo reunited in Australia
Harrogate-born Edmondson made two first-team league appearances for Leeds before moving on to Carlisle after disappointing loan spells at Aberdeen, Northampton, Fleetwood Town and Port Vale.
And a fresh start in another league and another hemisphere appears to be exactly what the proverbial doctor ordered, Edmondson scoring more goals in just a few minutes for Central Coast Mariners than he managed in 22 appearances in Carlisle colours during the first half of the current campaign.
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