Lightning does strike twice as Bolt bags a brace in Oz

USAIN BOLT took a step towards earning his first contract as a professional footballer after scoring twice for Central Coast Mariners in a 4-0 pre-season friendly win against Macarthur South West United. The fastest man on the planet, now 32, is still on trial with the Australian side but took his chance to impress as a striker, with just a week to go before the start of the new A-League season. ‘I’ve been working, trying to get fit to the level that I can play for 45 minutes,’ said a clearly delighted Bolt (below), who did his famous celebration after scoring. ‘To me, I played well and I’m happy with the progress I’m making. Dreams can become reality through hard work.’ Bolt’s presence is proving a huge commercial draw for Mariners as they allow him an indefinite training period. Though his goals will grab headlines, there is clearly more work to do as he prepares to face stronger opposition. Coach Mike Mulvey said the Jamaican may need 12 months to adjust to the sport’s demands. ‘We will sit down with the club, and see if we want to move forward and what I need to do and how to do that,’ added Bolt, who started for the Mariners wearing the 95 shirt, in reference to his 100-metre world record time of 9.58 seconds. ‘I’m taking this a step at a time. ‘I want to push myself to see how far I can go. We have to sit down after this game and we’ll figure out what we’ve got to do this season. ‘Until that, I’m here to train.’ Despite missing a number of first-half chances and taking a painful kick to the groin, Bolt kept going to score his first goal with an accomplished finish after 57 minutes, before adding a simple tap-in 11 minutes later. ‘I was telling myself if I got the guy off my shoulders, set myself up and hit the target, that was the key thing,’ said Bolt, whose first finish earned praise from his idol, former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. ‘The coach told me: “You will get chances, don’t get frustrated if you miss, it’s a part of the game. You’ve got to continue pushing until you get those chances”. I need more games to get better and to know where to be. ‘The coach will play me in different places because of my speed, and also play other strikers.’ One of those other strikers is Scottish international Ross McCormack, who opened the scoring before Jordan Murray made it 2-0. ‘I’m delighted for Usain getting his first goals,’ said McCormack, who is on loan from Aston Villa. ‘The thing is he works hard and he is so humble. Like the rest of us, he’s building his match sharpness every day, it’s interesting to watch his development. He’s fitted in well with the lads. From my first day to where he is now, the transformation has been huge.’ Mariners coach Mulvey said: ‘You’ve got to be so happy for the guy, haven’t you? ‘He covered himself in glory tonight and everyone is super pleased for him. ‘You’ve got to take

your hat off to him.’