PROMISING Newcastle-born left back Jakob Cresnar has signed a scholarship deal with the Central Coast Mariners.
The 21-year-old has spent the past 12 months in the Mariners' youth team and was integral to their promotion to the NSW NPL 1 competition.
Cresnar is the second Newcastle product to link with an A-League club outside his home town this month.
Broadmeadow Magic striker Jacob Dowes inked a one-year scholarship deal with Perth after a successful trial.
Cresnar played two seasons in the NNSW NPL at Newcastle Olympic and Edgeworth.
Then Edgeworth coach Michael Bridges helped set up an opportunity at the Mariners.
Cresnar was in the Jets academy from under-10s to under-14s, before linking with the Mariners academy.
As well as play football, Cresnar is studying biomedical engineering at Newcastle University.
Meanwhile, Jets striker Archie Goodwin's hopes of attending the FIFA under-20 World Cup have been revived.
Australia withdrew from the Asian Football Confederation Cup qualifiers which were to be played in Iraq due to safety concerns. That had ruled Australia out of contention for the World Cup.
However, the AFC have canned the qualifiers in Basra, which will now be played at another and date yet to be determined.
