James Virgili says a conscious effort to be more aggressive in front of goal is behind his hot streak of six goals in four games.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets winger James Virgili says he will continue to be more aggressive in front of goal after finding the back of the net six times in the Jets- last four pre-season matches.
Virgili scored a brace in the Jets- 2-2 draw with Bonnyrigg White Eagles on Wednesday night and said he-d made a conscious effort to be more assertive when presented with goal scoring opportunities this season.
“I-ve been lucky enough to score a few goals in the last few trial matches, which is something I don-t think I did enough of last season,” Virgili said.
“I-m backing myself to take players on and shoot a bit more, because at the end of the day if you don-t shoot, you don-t score.”
Virigli said that while there were still aspects of his game he would like to improve, he had drawn plenty of confidence from scoring regularly in recent weeks.
“I think in general play I could have done more and I think my final ball still needs to improve, but to get on the score sheet is always nice,” Virgili said.
“I-ve just got to make sure I keep working hard so I can carry that into the A-League and keep scoring goals there.”
Virgili said the Jets had been disappointed with their lacklustre performance against Bonnyrigg.
“It was a frustrating game,” he said.
‘-We conceded first and after that we were on the back foot a little bit
“We managed to get ourselves back in the game and really we should have held on in the end.”
Virigli played 90 minutes against the White Eagles and said that the match fitness gained by the Jets players was one positive they could take out of the contest.
“Pre-season is all about fitness and it was good to get a full game under my belt,” he said.
“We-ve had a pretty heavy training schedule of late and I-m feeling quite fit at the moment, so I think the whole squad will be ready to go come the start of the season.”
