Simon was a relieved man when he netted the first goal in last week's 2-1 win over Perth Glory at Bluetongue Stadium.

"I was pretty happy with how I was playing but as a striker you are always judged on how many goals you score," said Simon, who has now scored 32 goals for the Mariners.

Asensio's Screamer Vs FC Barcelona
Asensio's Screamer Vs FC Barcelona
In one of Real Madrid's most outstanding performances at the Camp Nou, Los Blancos beat FC Barcelona 3-1 in the Spanish Supercup. Real were leading 2-1 after Cristiano Ronaldo's 80th minute goal, but just before the final whistle, we sealed the win with this beautiful Marco Asensio strike.
0 seconds of 43 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:43
00:43
 
keep watching
Watch more Real Madrid videos on OneFootball

"Now one has gone in hopefully a few more will follow. I've just got to keep working hard."

A key to the Mariners win last week was Simon's combination up front with young strike partner Bernie Ibin-Isei.

Ibin-Isei celebrated his first A-League start with what turned out to be the winning goal in first-half injury time against Perth.

The Young Socceroo cramped up and was replaced late in the second half, but has pulled up well at training this week.

"I really enjoyed playing with Bernie," Simon said. "It's the first time we've started together and I think it worked pretty well. He is a very good young talent."

Fellow Young Socceroo Mustafa Amini is expected to get more game time against Phoenix.

Amini made his first appearance of the season off the bench last week and backed up to play 60 minutes for the club's youth team the following day.

The attacking midfielder is slowly returning to the fitness that saw him light up the A-League last season.