Adelaide United Head Coach, Carl Veart, has praised 18-year-old, Panashe Madanha, following a strong performance in his starting debut for the Reds.
Madanha was brought into the squad by Veart after some general soreness to Javi López saw the Spaniard miss-out on the clash with Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium on Monday evening.
Having only made two substitute appearances prior to the Round 10 Isuzu UTE A-League fixture, once in the Australia Cup and once in Round 9 – both against Newcastle Jets – Madanha was assured at the back and also provided a number of energetic, positive forward runs, which aided in securing the three points for United.
Speaking to media after the match, Veart said: “Panashe was outstanding tonight.
“It was a difficult one for Panashe because we’ve been working with him for quite a long time now as a right back.
“It’s not his natural position and I don’t think he would have ever played there before.
“So it was good to see him be as positive as he was, running at players.
“He’s a strong boy and he’s the quickest player in our team, so he’s very difficult to beat and I’m just so glad that he performed so well tonight.”