Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Amsterdam: Former Australia youth international defender Trent Sainsbury did his chances of forcing his way into the reckoning for the Socceroos' squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup a power of good after helping PEC Zwolle defeat Ajax 1-0 to win the Dutch Super Cup on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, a two-time A-League Young Player of the Month in 2013 with former club Central Coast Mariners prior to his move to the Netherlands, helped his side keep a clean sheet at the Amsterdam Arena while there was also an A-League connection to the winning goal with ex-Brisbane Roar striker Stefan Nijland finding the target ten minutes after the interval.
Sainsbury, scorer in the Mariners' 2-1 win over Guizhou Renhe in the 2013 AFC Champions League (pictured), was selected by Socceroos head coach Ange Postecoglou for a training squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup but a knee injury scuppered any chances of a first international cap.
But having fully recovered and already having played a part in two cup triumphs for unheralded Zwolle, Postecoglou will certainly be keeping tabs on the form of the Perth-born centre back ahead of Australia's hosting of Asia's flagship tournament.
Photo: AFP