Mark Birighitti says he hopes to continue his recent good form when the Jets travel to Perth to take on Perth Glory this Saturday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Mark Birighitti says he hopes to continue his recent run of good form when the Jets travel to Perth to take on Perth Glory on Saturday.
After his man-of-the-match performance against the Central Coast Mariners a fortnight ago, Birighitti was immense in goals once again for the Jets in their 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
The former Adelaide United shot-stopper was called into action on a number of occasions, but stood tall to make a myriad of crucial saves.
“I was very happy with my own performance and was glad that I was able to play my part in helping our team win the game,” Birighitti said.
“Hopefully I can keep that form going and put in another good performance in Perth next weekend.”
Birighitti-s performance and work ethic once again earned the praise of his coach Gary van Egmond.
“He was good, he saved us, especially in that first half,” van Egmond said.
“He-s such a nice kid and he really wants to be the best goalkeeper he can possibly be. He-s starting to mature a bit more, he-s settling a lot better and with that I think you-ll see the benefits in his performances as a keeper.”
Birighitti was largely to thank for the Jets not falling behind to the Victory before the half-time interval after they struggled to find much cohesion in the first 45 minutes.
“We started off a bit shaky, but in the second half we came out a different team,” Birighitti said.
“It-s still early on, we-ve still got a bit of improvement to do in some areas of our game, but I-m sure we can get that right in training and produce it in games. It-s just going to take a bit of time until that all clicks.
“It was a fantastic result though and I think we truly deserved that. We fought for the whole 90 minutes and deserved to get the three points.
“Hopefully we can continue this form. We-ve got a tough trip ahead of us, going to Perth but I-m sure we can go over there and do the job.”
While Birighitti received plenty of plaudits for his work between the sticks, the 21-year-old said the work of marquee striker Emile Heskey down the other end of the field could not be overstated.
“It-s a real asset to have such a target man up front that-s going to be a scoring threat each game,” Birighitti said.
“He showed tonight how important he is and hopefully he can continue that form and bag a couple next week against Perth.”
