The A-League Women’s Season has finally returned and with a new name – the Liberty A-League.
It’s game one and our new side is ready to go after six weeks of intense pre-season training.
It’s a tough challenge to begin with though as we head out away from home against Sydney FC – last year’s Premiers and Grand Finalists.
With the introduction of new players along with our returning core squad, our Jets will be confident of collecting points from the first game in what should an exciting opening encounter.
SYDNEY FC V NEWCASTLE JETS
Date: Saturday 4 December 2021
Kick-off: 5:05pm
Venue: Jubilee Stadium
How to Watch: Paramount+
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Since: 2008
Played: 24
Jets: 5
Sydney: 15
Draw: 4
BEGIN AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON
This weekend we enter our 14th season in the league and over that time we have a mixed history of performances for our opening games.
It took our women six years to lose our first match of the season, bit since then we’ve only been able to secure two victories over the next eight seasons.
Our most recent victory came in 2017 when we defeated the Wanderers where we went on to qualify for the finals, and our 2021/22 side has shades of that team with a great mixture of local youngsters, club veterans, and new international arrivals.
Typically our Jets can start the season with a strong attacking display as over the 14 opening matches that we’ve played, there’s only been three occasions that we have been kept to nil.
Head Coach Ash Wilson has made it clear that the team will be looking to implement a high pressing and aggressive style of football this season, which will be music to the ears of strike weapons like Tara Andrews, Marie Dovrik and Lauren Allan.
SYDNEY CHALLENGE
What better way to test yourself early in the season than against one of the elite teams of the competition in Round One.
Historically, Sydney have also been one of the toughest sides for us to face as we’ve lost our last five outings.
While new additions to our attack will help in the final third, our veteran defenders Hannah Brewer and Cass Davis, as well as youngsters Kirsty Fenton and Tiana Jaber will be looked upon at the back to keep out a firing opposition who have managed to score 47 goals against us over the years – the most of any opponent.
Sydney also possess a strong recent opening game record having won all their matches over the past three years with a 3-0 scoreline.
They’ll pose a challenge, but one our team are up for.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tara Andrews (Newcastle Jets)
There’s many names that we could pick out here, and while there’s multiple new names that have entered the fray and will pose a challenge for Sydney, it’s hard to go past our all-time leading goal scorer.
Andrews enters her 13th season this year yet is still just 27 years old and is one of the most lethal players in the competition’s history.
Her combination with fellow attacking players like Dovrik, Lucy Johnson and Jemma House will be crucial to applying pressure to Sydney’s side especially due to the danger she brings from crosses.
Maria Rojas (Sydney FC)
Making her Sydney debut this weekend after joining from Adelaide in the off-season, Chilian striker Maria Rojas will need to be nullified if our team are to win.
The veteran is not only a danger in front of goals, but in creating goals for teammates too and while she hasn’t amassed too many goals just yet in the A-League Women’s competition over her stints with Adelaide and Canberra, she has scored plenty for her national team.
STATS & FACTS
Our defensive efforts will be key to securing a victory this Saturday and the stats prove it. Over the 24 matches we’ve played against them, we’ve only managed to hold Sydney scoreless on two occasions – both ending in a 2-0 win.
Similarly, since our last victory back in 2017, Sydney have managed to find the back of the net 14 times with only one draw featured.
On the flip side to that, we have enjoyed scoring against them over the years. We’ve scored 26 goals against Sydney, and Adelaide and Perth are the only teams that we’ve scored more goals against.
Andrews is currently sitting on 39 goals and a goal this weekend would make her the first Jets player to hit 40.
