STRIKING HISTORY
BIG 100 FOR CAPTAIN:
FNQ Heat captain Jamie Carroll will create history tomorrow when he becomes the first player at the club to notch 100 NPL games.
The striker is a key man in front of goal but has gone above and beyond the club’s expectations as captain, emerging as his side’s heart-and-soul player. Carroll will be looking to get on the score sheet this Saturday night when his side lines up against grand final nemesis Redlands United.
Carroll, who has notched 38 goals in his 99 games so far, said it was a thrill to reach the milestone but added it will be small consolation if the Heat fail to perform in one of their most crucial games of the season.
JAMIE Carroll’s “magic” touch on and off field is set to inspire FNQ Heat to keep their season alive when he plays his 100th NPL game against Redlands tomorrow.
The skipper will be the first player to reach the milestone for the Heat since the competition started in 2013.
Carroll said he felt “a bit old” marking the 100-game milestone and while it would have been nice to celebrate it with a home game, his biggest wish was to score a goal just as he did on his Heat debut.
FNQ Heat coach Tim Campbell said he wanted nothing less than for his skipper to return to his goalscoring form and hit the back of the net in his 100th game and said players would do everything in their power to make it happen.
He said Carroll’s achievement deserved the utmost respect and he couldn’t ask for more of a captain.
“I think it would be fair to say previous to my time Jamie was perceived as someone who was difficult to manage ... but honestly, in the two years I’ve been here, it has been an absolute pleasure to watch him develop as a person and a player,” Campbell said. “He’s just so willing to contribute in any way. He just steps up.”
Campbell said it was amazing to see Carroll operate as player liaison and take responsibility in the operation of the resources-strapped club.
Carroll particularly steps up on away trips, setting the dress code, organising airport transfers and setting the schedule for game days.
Campbell said, while it may have been to his own detriment in front of goal this season, the care he showed for his players made everyone else’s job a whole lot easier.
“He hurts as much as anyone for him scoring a few less goals than he would like, and it’s great when he gets them, but at the same time what he does off the field is just as important to us,” he said,
“He’s always contributed goals, but now he contributes so much more.”
The man who gave Carroll his NPL start, Peter Tokesi, said it was a fantastic achievement for a player who always rose to the occasion.
The highly regarded coach helped Carroll gain a trial at Sydney FC in 2013.
He was squeezed out after Perth Glory striker Joel Chianese and Socceroo Terry Antonis returned to Sydney. But the run gave him the confidence to take his game to another level and eventually land the captain’s armband in 2016.