Brisbane defender Jack Hingert was delighted to see Macarthur’s Tommy Oar back on an A-League Men’s scoresheet earlier this week, but he’ll be doing all he can to deny his former teammate on Sunday.
Oar scored a brilliant first-time volley from outside the box in Macarthur’s 3-3 draw with Central Coast on Thursday, the ex-Socceroos’ first league goal since his strike for the Roar in January 2017.
The visit of Oar’s Bulls to Moreton Daily Stadium will mark Hingert’s 200th appearance for the Roar — just the second player to achieve that tally for the club behind former captain Matt McKay (272).
While Hingert enjoyed Oar’s goal against the Mariners, he’s in no mood to see the dose repeated this weekend.
“We’re quite good mates,” Hingert told AAP of Oar.
“Corey (Brown) and I were speaking about it the other day and wondering what he’s been up to and then he popped up the other night with that goal and we were like ‘oh, there he is, he’s going alright still’.
“Obviously it’ll be good to see him and I’ll probably match up against him at some point during the game, so I’m looking forward to that.
“When you’re on the pitch you forget about being mates, so it should be interesting.”
Hingert’s Brisbane journey began in 2011 after the demise of North Queensland Fury, where he was part of the Townsville-based club’s two league campaigns.
Joining the Roar at the height of the Ange Postecoglou era, the 31-year-old has gone from being a youngster learning alongside some of the club’s greatest players to being an elder statesman of Warren Moon’s youthful squad.
“Obviously when I first came I was playing alongside the likes of Matt McKay, Jade North, Shane Stefanutto, Thomas Broich, Besart Berisha — those types of players,” he said.
“I’ve got to kind of pinch myself to think I’m one of those older boys now … it’s something that I think helped my career having those types of players around me when I was young.
“I hope that I can do that for some of the young players who are coming through now over the last few years as well.”
Despite having a 10-day break since their 2-1 loss to Newcastle, Roar coach Warren Moon said injured players in captain Tom Aldred and forward Luke Ivanovic will not be available to return against the Mariners.
It’s also too soon for new signings Connor Chapman and Japanese import Ryo Wada to feature.
Macarthur will be making their first trip out of New South Wales for Sunday’s game as Ante Milicic’s team look to end a four-game winless run.