Milligan praises IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 competition

Socceroo and Melbourne Victory star player Mark Milligan was a key spectator in the entertaining round 8 IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 competition at Seymour Shaw between his former club Sutherland Sharks and Sydney United 58 last Saturday evening.
Born and bred in Sydney’s West, Milligan made the trip to his home city for a couple of days and managed to catch up with family and friends but also returned to one of his old stomping grounds, namely Seymour Shaw where he spent some time with the Sharks.
“It’s great to be back.
“The competition seems to be going from strength to strength which is fantastic news for the game especially at state level as that’s where it all starts from.
“I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity I was given thanks to this competition.
“I know a lot of the boys playing in the league especially at Sutherland, but it was good to catch up with friends and members of the club.
“I spent a good three quarters of a season here at Sutherland so it’s definitely nice to be in a familiar place watching some familiar faces.”
Milligan was impressed with the standard produced on the evening as the match ended in a thrilling 1-1 draw but from reports was played at a frenetic pace for the entire ninety minutes.
Asked whether any players impressed the Victory star Milligan replied.
“Definitely – A few young boys caught my eye from both teams.
“I thought ‘Tricky’ (Glen Trifiro) did well, I haven’t seen him play even though he was down in Melbourne for a little while he looked sharp and obviously some of the young boys from Sutherland namely Nick Olsen and Chris Naumoff impressed me.”
Resting up on what was a busy seasons for Milligan, the 27-year-old is hoping that with another good pre-season under Ange Postecoglou the club can go one step better in the Hyundai A-League and aim for that title.
“It was a tough year but I feel as though we improved as each game went by.
“Our focus is now preparing for the new year and looking at getting back to the top.”
-By Mark Stavroulakis