Adam Taggart says he was satisfied to have got through his first full match of the pre-season on Wednesday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets forward Adam Taggart says he was satisfied to have bagged a goal in his first full match of the pre-season in Wednesday-s intra-club trial at Ray Watt Oval.
Taggart was one of only a handful of players to play a full match on Wednesday. He said it was a step in the right direction as a he looks to build his fitness back up after suffering an injury setback earlier in the pre-season.
“It was really good to play a full game,” he said.
“Even before today it has been a long while since I played a full 90, so it was good to get that game time into my legs and get through the match without any problems.
“I-m still slowly building my fitness up to where I was before the injury.
“I-m doing some extra work with the strength and conditioning coach and physio, but it-s coming along nicely and hopefully soon I-ll be back to where I want to be.”
Taggart started the match leading the Jets ‘Youth Team- forward line with Mitch Cooper and Marko Jesic playing out wide. He swapped sides over to the Jets ‘First XI- at the end of the first 30-minute period and proved to be a constant threat for the remainder of the fixture.
After being denied by Ben Kennedy on a couple of occasions and sending a few shots a goal narrowly wide, Taggart eventually got on the score sheet with a neat finish late in the game.
Taggart said the opportunity to work with different combinations in the forward lines of both teams was beneficial for him.
“It-s good in a way because you can get used to playing alongside different people and in different positions,” he said.
“It keeps you on the ball and makes you always thinking about what you-re doing. It was probably good for me as well because it meant I had to focus more on the positional and technical side of things.”
Despite having played limited minutes, Taggart has already scored five goals in pre-season so far and the 18-year-old said he has been pleased with his form in front of goals up to this point.
“All strikers aim to score goals, but it-s always good to find the back of the net because you get confidence from that,” he said.
“At the end of the day a lot of the credit has to go to the players who get me into those positions.”
