Broadly Speaking, United New Boy a Hit

The texts and e-mails from friends, family and fans have been piling up since Chris Broadfoot was first named as a Gold Coast substitute for Sunday's impressive 1-0 win over Perth Glory.

And the deluge is not about to stop after the lanky and languid striker made his debut off the bench at nib Stadium, clocking up 14 minutes of game time as a late replacement for big-name striker Bruce Djite as Miron Bleiberg's men held on for their maiden A-League win of the campaign.

The 29-year-old Broadfoot, who graduated from the terraces to the field in one short year, is a walking fairytale as far as his mates in United's Beach fan club are concerned.

A special cheer went up among United's most devoted followers when he made his entry for his cameo in the west.

With fellow Gold Coast attacking weapons Tahj Minniecon and James Brown on Olyroos duty for the next three games, former Burleigh Heads and Broadbeach forward Broadfoot is in line for a home debut this Sunday, in front of his nearest and dearest against the Central Coast Mariners at Skilled Park.

“All weekend I've had texts, emails and Facebook messages and I don't expect it to dry up. It's been fantastic,” said Broadfoot, who bellowed his backing from the stands last season for the men he now calls teammates.

“I think a lot of the Beach boys watched the game at RQ's [Tavern] in Robina and apparently when I went on there was a huge cheer.

“Going to Perth and beating them on their own turf is a huge result.

“Hopefully it will be a bit of a springboard for us with three games now coming up in a week, against the Mariners and Newcastle at home, then away to Sydney.

“If we take six points at least from those games, we will be in good shape.”

An unusually physical Gold Coast belied their tag as entertainers to flex their muscle against the Glory.

“They weren't expecting that. It showed there's another side to our game,” added Broadfoot.

David Lewis, Gold Coast Bulletin
13 September 2010

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