Louis laps up clash

GIRU’S Louis Zabala has just completed what could be described as a dream week for a young professional footballer on the rise, but the 21-yearold has taken it all in his stride.

Zabala put in a decent performance for Brisbane Roar in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United on the Gold Coast last week, before helping to nullify Aston Villa’s Brazilian superstar Philippe Coutinho in the first half of Wednesday night’s clash in front of a large group of friends and family at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

The Roar lost both games in the Queensland Champions Cup, but in Townsville, Zabala and his teammates were able to frustrate both Coutinho and his manager Steve Gerrard as they held a star-studded Aston Villa lineup goalless in a lacklustre first 45 minutes from the English Premier League side.

Gerrard was full of praise for Zabala and his teammates, particularly in the first period.

The former Liverpool and

England legend said he did not enjoy Villa’s performance before the break, when Zabala was part of the Roar line-up, and praised Brisbane’s defensive work, saying they were “a tough nut to crack”.

Villa did eventually break the deadlock in the 71st minute, with young gun Cameron Archer sealing the 1-0 success, but Zabala said he was happy with how the Roar managed to keep the EPL side at bay for long periods in Townsville.

“Obviously they’re sharp,” Zabala said.

“We set up in a way that we thought we could nullify their threats for the most part and I think we implemented that well on the field.”

Zabala was born in Giru and played most of his junior football in the Townsville region. His friends and family were part of the 10,228 crowd on Wednesday.

Zabala said he would cherish the memories for the rest of his life. “It was unreal,” he said. “It was everything I always dreamt of as a kid.

“That’s something I’ll remember forever.”