Newcastle Jets defender Connor Chapman says he is becoming more and more confident playing at A-League level.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets defender Connor Chapman says he is becoming more and more confident playing at A-League level ahead of the Jets- match against Brisbane Roar at Hunter Stadium this Saturday.
The Jets kept their first clean sheet of the season against Adelaide United last weekend with 18-year-old Chapman and Taylor Regan at the heart of the defence.
It was the first time the pair had teamed up at A-League level, but Chapman said he felt at home playing alongside Regan.
“I feel a lot more comfortable. The more games I-m getting, the more confident I-m getting and I think you may be able to see that in my game,” Chapman said.
“Especially with Taylor Regan next to me in the last game, I felt a lot more comfortable with him and I think we worked well together.
“I think we just complement each other well. He-s more of a hard man and sometimes I-m more of a finesse player.
“I think we do complement each other and obviously we-ve played with each other in some games in the youth team and we do have a good understanding.”
Chapman said he was pleased to repay the faith shown in him by head coach Gary van Egmond to help marshal the Jets defence at such a tender age.
“We-ve been working for a clean sheet for a number of weeks now,” Chapman said.
“I think in the games before, they were tight games, but we didn-t really get the defensive shape right.
“With Gary showing his faith in me, to give him a clean sheet on the weekend and keep a good defensive shape is paying him back for that.
“It-s a credit to Gary. I think if you look at the backline, it-s one of the youngest backlines in the league, but if we stick to it, the results will come.”
Chapman said he is pleased with the way he is adapting to playing at A-League level on a weekly basis.
“It-s a different style of game, it-s quicker, it-s faster and you have to be smarter and you have to adapt,” Chapman said.
“That-s always a learning curve. In the youth league you may make a mistake and you won-t get punished for it.
“In the A-League if you make a mistake, there-s a high chance you will get punished.”
Chapman said the Jets would look to use Saturday-s match against Brisbane Roar at Hunter Stadium as an opportunity to build momentum and launch themselves up the A-League ladder.
“Brisbane are a really good team. Obviously some of the results haven-t been going their way, but they-ve got really good players like Berisha and Broich and players like that can change a game,” Chapman said.
“We-ve got to go out there and put it to them.
“Once you get a few wins in a row, as you see with Melbourne Heart, two weeks ago they were on the bottom and now they-re in the top six.
“Once those results start to go our way, we-ll climb the ladder and be quite strong. It was good to get a clean sheet against Adelaide and hopefully we can build on that for this weekend, get a win and start to go on a run.”
Newcastle Jets v Brisbane Roar
Saturday, January 12
Hunter Stadium
Kick-off 7.45pm
Tickets from PROticket
Limited parking will be available for purchase at the car park entrances on game days for the remainder of the Jets 2012/13 season. Whilst there will be parking available for purchase, Hunter Venues does encourage patrons to pre-purchase their parking tickets at a PROticket outlet or online at www.proticket.com.au as parking is subject to availability.
