Reds coach John Kosmina could not have been more pleased for Bruce Djite as he buried the ball into the back of the net against Wellington.
Reds coach John Kosmina could not have been more pleased for Bruce Djite as he buried the ball into the back of the net against Wellington.
Djite opened the scoring on Friday night when he pounced on a loose ball and fired his shot past Phoenix keeper Mark Paston to give the Reds a 10th minute lead.
Less than a week earlier, Djite had copped criticism for missing a couple of fine chances against Perth Glory.
But instead of letting the negativity get to him, Djite remained confident in his ability and went about his business during the week knowing how quickly things can turn – one week a villain, the a next a hero.
Kosmina, who like Djite was a striker in his playing days that also wore his heart on his sleeve and played for the shirt every time he took to the field, knows just as well that criticism and ‘off day-s come with the territory. With this in mind, the Reds coach was delighted by the way Djite responded after a tough week.
“It wasn-t just the fact that he scored, it was how he scored,” Kosmina said.
“He followed Dario (Vidosic) in, he was alive, he was active in the box and that-s what strikers need to be, and he was hungry.”
“Bruce showed a tonne of character after last week because he copped a pasting in the media, most of the fans have been on his case and to come out last night and score as early as he did and pay as well as he did, it-s a credit to him.”
The goal was Djite-s fourth of the season and interestingly, three of his four have come against Wellington.
