Gary reflects on last week’s draw and also looks ahead to Friday night’s big game against Wellington at Ausgrid Stadium.
Looking back on the game against the Central Coast Mariners last Saturday night the boys played extremely well. We had a game plan from the start and we stuck to it. It did change throughout the duration of the match but the boys adjusted and adapted, creating highly impressive football.
We were unfortunate in conceding a goal as we had control of the better part of the game. However, to only concede one goal against the top of the table team is a positive in my books.
This weekend we host Wellington Phoenix and we will be running onto the field with something to prove. The last two times we have met Wellington they have robbed us of the three points, but hopefully not this time. We have our twelfth man, our home crowd, with us tomorrow night and we will be using that to our advantage.
Wellington is a good and physical team and we will be matching their intensity on the field. Controlling the mainstay of the match and out playing our New Zealand rivals is key to stealing the three points this weekend.
We are hungry for the win and we are eager to pick up as many of them as we can heading into the latter end of the season.
The return of Tarek and Jobe comes at a good time for us as we face a tough few weeks ahead; Wellington tomorrow night, Adelaide United mid week and then Brisbane Roar the following weekend. We will need the depth back in our team to rotate the experienced players with some of the fresh legs that we have adopted into the team.
It is great to see some of the youth players filtering into the A-League and the boys are welcoming them with open arms. However, they are all well aware that they have to earn their strips and their feet have to remain firmly on the ground if they want to grow within the club.
The team has been working together tremendously with the mixture of old and new players. Everyone is stepping up their game and proving their worth; especially now that drafting has opened.
All Newcastle Jets players know that every time they set foot on the field they have to play to the best of their abilities. Yes, there is more pressure to perform well now that some positions are up for grabs but all the boys have been playing great football from the get go.
Newcastle demands quality football from our players and that-s what we will deliver.
I look forward to seeing our members and fans tomorrow night as we take on rivals, Wellington Phoenix in what I predict to be an incredibly entertaining match.
Gary
