Fresh off the back of Melbourne Victory’s signing of Jai Ingham, the Central Coast Mariners have added NPL stars Alastair Bray and Francesco Stella to their senior squad for the remainder of the season.
22-year-old Bray joins the Mariners having trialled with the club in late November, beating Hume City’s Chris Oldfield for the goalkeeping spot left vacant by the dismissed Liam Reddy.
With first-choice Paul Izzo away on Olyroos duty, Bray could make his debut for the club this Friday against the Melbourne Victory in Geelong.
After making his debut for the Bulleen Lions in 2012, the former Melbourne Heart Youth Team goalkeeper earned plaudits for his performances at the Bentleigh Greens where he made 60 league appearances for the Cheltenham based club.
In that time he helped the club win the 2015 NPL Championship after defeating regular season Premiers South Melbourne 3-1 in extra-time in the Grand Final at Lakeside Stadium as well as being part of the club’s memorable 2014 FFA Cup run which culminated in a 3-0 defeat to the Perth Glory at the semi-finals stage of the competition.
The Beaumaris junior had agreed terms with Green Gully ahead of the 2016 NPL Season before Mariners Manager Tony Walmsley invited for a trial in Gosford.
24 year-old Stella arrives at the club after featuring for Avondale in the second-half of the 2015 season where he scored twice in ten appearances as he helped the newly promoted outfit finish the campaign in ninth position and secure mid-table safety.
The attacking midfielder has previous A-League experience after making seven appearances for the Melbourne Victory between 2013 and 2014 after being signed by then Victory manager Ange Postecoglou in January 2013.
In addition to his time in the A-League, Stella has previously piled his trade in Italy Siena as well as being a part of Chievo Verona’s youth set-up alongside spells in Scotland and Thailand with Rangers and Sisaket respectively.
The former South Melbourne midfielder trialled at the Mariners during the club’s pre-season and featured in their 3-2 victory over the Western Sydney Wanderers in Coffs Harbour in July.
The arrivals of the duo come months after former Heidelberg United striker Daniel Heffernan and ex- Melbourne Knight captain Tomislav Uskok joined the Gosford based outfit with all four in contention to play this Friday night as the Mariners entertain the defending Champions in Geelong.
Photo: Matt Johnson