This weekend sees our Jets welcome the Western Sydney Wanderers to town in a game that they must-win if they want any chance of keeping their season alive.
The match will be our second consecutive appearance at No.2 Sportsground – and our third straight at home – and with only two home games remaining in the season, our Women will be focused on putting smiles on the fans’ faces.
Last weekend, the team went down in heartbreaking fashion having a goal disallowed on the stroke of full-time spelling their third straight defeat and keeping them 12 points away from the top four.
Wanderers sit second last on the ladder with just one win to their name and are coming off back-to-back 5-nil defeats meaning they’ll be highly motivated to turn things around this Saturday.
Here’s your complete breakdown of our Matchday Ten fixture at home:
NEWCASTLE JETS V WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
Date: Saturday 19 February 2022
Kick-off: 5:05pm
Venue: No.2 Sportsground
How to Watch: SECURE YOUR TICKETS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played: 13
Jets: 6
Draws: 1
Wanderers: 6
REVERSING RECENT WOES
Both sides have endured a rough run of form heading into this clash and this Saturday marks a great opportunity to turn things around as we head into the business end of the season.
Wanderers have lost their last six games and have struggled in front of goal having only scored three gaols in their 11 outings.
We’ve also experienced some difficulty in that department recently though as our Women haven’t been able to find a goal in our past three games despite coming agonisingly close on multiple occasions.
While our team have one of the better defensive records in the competition – sitting as the third best in the league for goals conceded – it’s our attack that needs to improves as we sit third-bottom in goals scored.
Last time out against the Wanderers saw us squander numerous chances in front of goal and in the end, the lead as well as our opponents stole a point at the death.
The team will need to make sure of their chances if they are to win at home.
DO OR DIE
There’s no two ways about it – if our team doesn’t win on Saturday, our finals hopes are over.
Currently our Women are 12 points away from Adelaide in fourth, however we still have two games in hand of the teams above.
Another stat that sits in our favour is that four of our five remaining games come against teams below us on the table.
While results will need to go in our favour to make the top four, the teams will be wary that all they can control are their own performances.
Regardless of whether our team feature in the finals this season, you can bet our Jets will go fighting in our final matches.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tara Andrews (Newcastle Jets)
The return of our prolific goal-scorer Tara Andrews looked to add another element to our attack last weekend against Sydney and Coach Ash Wilson will be hoping that threat turns into goals this Saturday.
So far Andrews has been in and out of the Starting XI and has managed to score in just one game this season, but you should never write off a champion and Andrews has proven over the years that she has a skill of finding the back of the net.
In each of the two previous seasons, the 27-year-old managed five goals and has the potential to bring this season’s tally closer to that if she can manage her usual scoring trend in the last five matches.
If she can showcase more of her strength both with the ball at her feet and in the air, she’ll not only prove to be a danger herself, but also create opportunities for her teammates.
Caitlin Cooper (Western Sydney Wanderers)
The veteran and captain of the team, Caitlin Cooper has once again proven that age is just a number as she continues to lead her team at the age of 34.
The former Matilda from Port Macquarie holds the all-time games record for the Club and leads her team in stats in multiple areas in 2021/22.
Cooper makes the most clearances and passes and is close to the most interceptions too.
She’ll be out to stop our attacking threats this weekend and will be one of the challenge we have to overcome if we are to win.
STATS & FACTS
So far in our history with the Wanderers, there is only three goals that separate our overall record. Each team has won six games, with one draw taking place last time out, while our side have managed 21 goals to Wanderers’ 18.
While playing at home though, our Jets have enjoyed recent success against the Wanderers winning our past three clashes in Newcastle and with an aggregate score of 9-3.
Both sides’ goalkeepers have been tested extensively this season and the stats prove it. The Jets lead the league for most saves made per game (5.6) while the Wanderers are second (5).
Things are comparatively different in many other areas though. Western Sydney lead the league in yellow cards (20), as opposed to our nine, the Jets have create 18 big chances as opposed to Wanderers’ six, while our side also average almost 50 more passes a game compared to our opponents.
One area that both linger though, is in the shots on target percentage as we both dwindle at the bottom of the league with 31% (Jets) and 30% (Wanderers) respectively, for shots that are on target.
