Jai Ingham described scoring against Juventus as an “incredible feeling” after tonight’s penalty shootout win in the International Champions Cup.
Ingham scored a late equaliser for the Melbourne Victory before converting his spot kick in the shootout which saw the Victory triumph 4-3 on penalties.
It was the landmark moment in an extraordinary 12 months for Ingham, who was playing for Hume City in the FFA Cup this time last year.
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In front of a disappointing crowd of 23,174 at the MCG, Ingham said the goal and the win provided great confidence for both the individual and the collective.
“The feeling is unbelievable, especially scoring against a team like Juventus,” Ingham said.
“It’s an incredible feeling, and it was especially good to get the win against them tonight which gives us a lot of confidence heading into pre-season.
“It’s a great start and it’s given us a lot of confidence going into Atletico Madrid and we’re especially looking forward to the FFA Cup game against Newcastle.”
Ingham said his individual focus for the upcoming season was cementing a spot in the starting 11, competing with the likes of Fahid Ben Khalfallah and man-of-the-match Mitch Austin.
From a team aspect, Ingham said manager Kevin Muscat had outlined reclaiming the A-League title after their sixth-placed finish last season.
“I just want to keep learning and crack a spot in the first 11 – obviously if I can keep coming off the bench and scoring goals I’ll set myself up,” Ingham said.
“‘Musky’ hasn’t really set individual targets for me, more so targets for the team: we’ve got a very good squad this year and we’re looking to win the championship this year.”
The Melbourne Victory take on Atletico Madrid next Sunday from 2pm in Geelong, with the FFA Cup opener against the Newcastle Jets to come on Wednesday, August 3.
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