Newcastle Jets defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley has warned Perth Glory he is due for a goal ahead of their Round 8 Hyundai A-League clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Friday night.
Topor-Stanley missed a number of goal-scoring opportunities from set pieces for the Jets in their 2-1 loss to Sydney FC last weekend but is confident a goal is just around the corner and he is hoping it might come this weekend against his former club.
“It is something the coaching staff has been onto to me about that I should be more of an aerial threat on set pieces and I haven’t done myself justice. I feel I am well overdue to score a goal on set pieces,” he told Sportal.
“We have been working on it in training – the timing of runs and being more aggressive and attacking the ball and I have been getting my head to the ball but I just haven’t been able to get it in the back of the net.”
“But I am always confident. I am fairly confident in the air and if I just keep going the way I am going it will come.”
Topor-Stanley said the Jets’ squad has put the disappointment of last week’s loss behind them after dominating the possession stats and shots on goal against Sydney but falling short on the scoreboard.
“We have to take the positives out of that game and move on to the next week otherwise we will be stuck on the negatives. We are just looking forward and we will more critical in our finishing and more ruthless in our defending,” he said.
“We are looking to bounce back after a loss at home and two losses on the trot and it is going to be a short week for us so it is going to be a real test of our heart and character to see if we can get the three points.”
Topor-Stanley, who signed for the Jets from Perth in the off-season, declined to say he could give his Newcastle team-mates any ‘intimate knowledge’ of any Glory secrets claiming the fact that the West Australian side has had a huge change of personnel leading into this season.
Instead he said it was up to the Jets to take the initiative to try to dominate the game and limit the opportunities for the Perth side.
“I think it is more about what we are doing,” he said. “We are the ones at home and we will have to work on our game to see how we can break them down instead of worrying about what they are going to do.”
“They have a lot of good players in their side and they are flying high but we just have to work on our own game. We are the ones at home and we have to keep the ball down on the deck and play our own game instead of playing into their hands.”
“We have to be more critical in our finishing and we have to look at our defensive structure because we are leaking goals and we are not taking our chances enough.”
On a personal note the young defender said he was nearing the top of his game after suffering a knee injury during training with Newcastle during their Asian Champions League campaign earlier this year.
“I am feeling match fit but the injury I have got is bone bruising in the knee which takes a long time to heal,” he said.
“The medical staff has told me it may be a couple of months before I have no symptoms whatsoever. It is just the way it is. It is not causing any pain really but is just more a stiffness thing. I am only 24 but I feel like my knee is going on 50.”
