A footballer with strong Isle of Man connections scored his first goal for A-League giants Perth Glory in Australia on Saturday.

Ciaran Bramwell, son of former Isle of Man and Ramsey, Ayre United and St George’s player Graeme Bramwell, netted his first senior strike for the Glory to help them on their way to a vital home victory over Newcastle Jets at the HBF Park in the Western Australia city.

Graeme was a regular member of the Isle of Man FA representative side, making 51 appearances for the Men and helping them reach the final of the 1993 Island Games football tournament in the Isle of Wight.

He also won three league titles with Geordies during his seven-year stay with the Glencrutchery Road side.

Graeme and his wife Anne-Marie have five children, the eldest being Daniel and Sara who were both born in the island. The latter has recently returned to Manx shores to take up a nursing position at Noble’s Hospital.

After Daniel and Sara were born, the family moved to Australia in 1998 where twins Jordan and Lisa were born followed by Ciaran in 2001.

Now 19 years old, Ciaran spent some of his formative years in the Isle of Man and was a pupil at Sulby Primary School for a short time before the family moved back to Australia in November 2007.

Ciaran has been part of the Perth Glory FC Academy since he was 15, having played junior football for Quinns FC and ECU Joondalup SC before moving to his current club.

Over the past four years, he has progressed through the ranks from the Glory’s under-18s to making his first team debut in Australia’s professional A-League on March 2 when he came off the bench for the last 10 minutes against Central Coast Mariners.

He had another two substitute appearances before making a starting debut in a 1-1 draw with Sydney FC on March 24.

Ciaran earned another starting berth on Saturday night against Newcastle Jets and scored his first A-League goal after 17 minutes, latching on to a pass from team-mate Bruno Fornaroli who used to play for Sampdoria and Panathinaikos.

The strike helped Glory to claim a much-needed win with a fantastic defensive display after being reduced to 10 men before half-time.

Other members of the Perth Glory squad include former Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Andy Keogh, ex-Getafe player Diego Castro and former Japanese international Kosuke Ota.DAVE NORTON