Summer recruit Calum O’Connell has good reason to be pleased with how the past couple of months have panned out.   The versatile left-sided player was ready to give the game away when an invitation arrived to join Inglewood United for the pre-season.   It was an opportunity he jumped at, and one he has most definitely made the most of.

O’Connell, a former A-League player with Brisbane Roar, set his sail by being one of only three Inglewood players to feature in every minute of the club’s five Night Series games.   And on the weekend the 25-year old marked his Inglewood league debut by scoring the final goal in the 3-0 National Premier Leagues defeat of Floreat Athena.

“It was great to get on the score sheet,” said O’Connell, who was deployed at wing back by coach Taki Nicolaidis.   “When there’s an opportunity to get forward and support I’ll always take it.   We were solid defensively against Floreat, they never really tested us, and going forward we also looked dangerous, as the scoreline reflected.”

O’Connell is clearly enjoying being part of Inglewood, saying he has absolutely no regrets about putting retirement on hold in the quest for a league champions medal.   “I was convinced that I was going move on from playing at the end of last season but it’s very hard to walk away from something that’s a big part of your life,” he commented.

“Inglewood really wants to be one of the leading clubs in the league, and I think they are on their way to achieving that goal.   They’ve assembled a strong playing group for this season and that’s backed up by a backroom team that is also strong.   Together, we all want to make a statement and be successful.”

“The atmosphere in the playing group is second to none.   There are a lot of familiar faces for me from last year at Perth SC.   The mix of experience and youth, knowledge and enthusiasm that we have amongst the players could make all the difference in 2016 being Inglewood’s year.”