Gold Coast United striker Joel Porter is finally starting to find his killer instinct for goals but says that he was always content to service his team-mates until he found his groove.
The 30-year-old has been far from ineffective through the opening third of the season, but hasn’t been up to his own goal-scoring standards which saw him net 23 in 45 matches in England’s League One last season.
While Shane Smeltz has scored more than half of United’s goals to-date, Porter – who has just two – is more than happy to facilitate his partner through his purple-patch.
“There is a certain amount of assists I want to achieve – that’s a big part of my game … I like to get into position where I can help other players out,” Porter said.
“Shane has been in rare form which makes my job a lot easier.”
Porter feels that it has taken time to adjust to playing in the Hyundai A-League after six seasons overseas, but the signs are positive as the new side gets deeper into its first campaign.
Since returning from a calf injury in Round 8, the busy forward has buried his two goals in three matches on the end of a spluttering United offence.
“It would’ve been nice to have scored a bit earlier in the season but I got that so-called monkey off my back against Melbourne and got another one on the weekend.”
“Coming to a new competition you definitely have to change your mentality, you have to change the runs you make and alter your positioning, but I feel like I have a pretty good understanding with the boys now.”
United will be keen to get their combinations right this weekend against a Perth Glory side who haven’t lost a match since the first week of September
After ten weeks interrupted by injury, suspension and representative duties, United coach Miron Bleiberg had insisted that Round 11 would be the start of a new surge for his side with all players back on deck.
But Bleiberg’s plans have again been thrown into disarray with news that crafty Ivorian Adama Traore would be out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury.
The left-back sustained the blow in the early in last week’s win over Brisbane, with scans revealing significant damage to his medial ligament.
