Ben Kennedy says he hopes to make the role of starting goalkeeper his own for the remainder of the Hyundai A-League season.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy says he hopes to make the role of starting goalkeeper his own for the remainder of the Hyundai A-League season.
Kennedy made his first appearance of the 2013/14 campaign last weekend, keeping a clean sheet in the Jets- 5-0 win over Wellington Phoenix at Hunter Stadium.
The local shot-stopper said he had been slightly nervous in the build-up to the match, but tried not to put too much pressure on himself after being called upon to replace Mark Birighitti.
“I-m feeling much more relaxed now that I-ve got the first game out of the way,” Kennedy said.
“I was a bit nervous leading up to the last game seeing as I hadn-t played in about 18 months, but this week so far has been a bit more relaxed and it has been a lot better.
“I didn-t really feel the pressure too much, I knew what I had to do and I just went in and played my own game.
“I think if you put too much pressure on yourself, you set yourself up to fail. I just tried to go into the match as relaxed as possible and I thought I did that.
“The boys in front of me did well and I didn-t have much to do, which obviously helps first game back, but I felt what I did, I did alright and now I-m just looking forward to this weekend.”
After waiting all season for his opportunity, Kennedy said he did not plan opn giving up the number one spot anytime soon.
“It-s tough, but at the same time Birraz was playing well,” Kennedy said.
“That-s just part of goalkeeping, there-s only spot available.
“My goal now is to play the rest of the year and hopefully the finals and if I keep playing well it will be hard to drop me, so that-s my aim at the moment.”
The Jets travel across the Nullarboor this weekend to take on Perth Glory at nib Stadium – a venue they have not won at since the inaugural Hyundai A-League season.
“Perth is a tough place to go and play, especially for us,” Kennedy said.
“We don-t have a great record there, but all the boys are looking good and we played pretty well as whole defensively last week.
“If we do that again I-m sure we can come away with a win.”
