Defender Jack Hingert says it’s a credit to the entire Brisbane Roar squad for keeping a clean sheet against Melbourne City on Friday night.
The shutout was the first time that City had failed to score this season and only the second time in their history that they were not able to conjure a shot on target.
Hingert was instrumental on the right side of defence, nullifying the threat of in-form attacker Fernando Brandán.
“It’s always great to keep a clean sheet, especially as a defender, it’s something that you want to achieve in every game,” Hingert said.
“It’s a credit to the whole squad. They’re a great attacking team and usually create a lot of chances but against us they didn’t have one shot on goal which is not only a credit to the back four but the whole squad.”
Fellow fullback Corey Brown and central defenders Jade North and Luke DeVere (below) were also immense in the Roar’s back four on Friday night, containing league-leading goalscorer Bruno Fornaroli and Socceroo legend Tim Cahill.
DeVere has played every minute of the 2016-17 season to date after missing the entire 2015-16 campaign due to injury, and Hingert believes the 27-year-old will play an important role.
“He’s a great player to have next to you and hopefully he can stay fit and continue his form but he’ll be massive for us this season,” Hingert said.
“It would have been torture for him watching us play last season and as you can see, he makes a great difference so it’s great to play alongside him.
The Roar are on a three-game winning streak in the Hyundai A-League, rising to second place on the ladder.
The next challenge is defending Champions Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Friday night (6:50pm KO QLD time). The Reds have only taken one point from their opening five matches, but Hingert says it’s important the Roar take the same attitude into the clash.
“Every team has quality players so there’s plenty of players in their squad who can cause danger if you let them,” he said.
“We’re going to go down there with the same attitude and try keep a clean sheet and score some goals.
“If we go to Adelaide with the same attitude that we had on the weekend, I’m sure we can put in another good performance and hopefully get the win.”
After opening his account in Round 4, Striker Jamie Maclaren (below) has now scored in consecutive Hyundai A-League matches and is unavailable for selection on Friday night after being selected in the Australian squad to face Thailand.
While Maclaren’s potency and qualities leading the line will be missed, Head Coach John Aloisi has a number of options to use in his absence.
“He’s a loss for us and I wish him all the best in Thailand, but we have a great squad here with great depth,” Hingert said.
“We have a number of options that can come in and fill in for Macca [Maclaren] and I’m sure they’ll do a good job.”
