News

Halloran taking a few for the team

The 19-year-old was the constant target for Sydney’s rearguard in the 0-0 draw on Sunday, but declared his willingness to put his body on the line for the good of the team as United look to inject momentum into their season and battle for every point.

“I’m getting used it (the rough treatment) to be honest. In the youth league it doesn’t happen but obviously the Hyundai A-League is a lot more physical. If I’m getting fouled and winning free-kicks for the team then I’m happy with that,” Halloran said.

“It’s up to us all to put in that extra ten per cent every week and put our bodies on the line if we have to. It’s important to battle hard during a game to get results.

“We were fired up against Sydney and it’s probably the most fired up we’ve been all year. I think we showed that we’re prepared to put in and grind out results if we have to. If we continue to do that we will be alright for the rest of the season.

“I thought we were solid and you’ve always got a good chance of winning if you’re solid at the back.

“We took a lot of confidence from the game on Sunday and that’s important. We’re taking that confidence into the match on Friday and we believe we can take the points from Adelaide.”

Meanwhile, Dutch import Peter Jungschlager also underlined his commitment to the team, declaring he was happy to play in any position asked of him.

Jungschlager played at right wing-back against the sky blues, a diversion from his more familiar position in the centre of midfield, but after helping United to keep their first clean sheet of the campaign with a solid performance he says he will do whatever it takes to secure three points in Adelaide.

“I played right-back / right-half which was a bit new to me, but I will always do my best for the team,” Jungschlager said.

“Whatever position I’m asked to play I will play because I want us to start winning more games and work our way up the table. It’s the team that counts.

“There’s definitely a better feeling now because none of us enjoyed the run we were on, but after Sunday’s game we have something to build on and it’s up to us to take it from here.

“We had chances to win the game against Sydney, but it wasn’t to be so now we want to make sure we win in Adelaide on Friday night.

“We’ve played all the other teams now so we know how Adelaide will play against us. It’s taken a while but our structure is a bit better now and we will be doing everything possible to get on a winning run started on Friday night.

“The memory of what happened down there last time is still fresh for us and it’s something we want to put right,” he added.

As with most foreign imports, Jungschlager has been through a period of adapting to his new surroundings and getting used to the vastly different playing conditions in Australia. Naturally, one of the more difficult elements to adjust to is the summer heat, but after admitting to initially being shocked by Australian temperatures, the Dutchman is sounding more Aussie by the day!

“The games are in the evening mostly so it’s not too hot then and I’m getting used to it anyway. It was very different at first, especially when summer first started, but l I like it now; it’s good!” he smiled.