After experiencing a disappointing result on the weekend, our Women continue their rush of matches and head south to Melbourne for a record-breaking midweek clash.
The Jets are coming off the back of a 3-0 loss to Canberra away from home with numerous injuries forcing multiple changes and leaving the side depleted.
Our opponents Melbourne City are currently locked in a premiership battle and will be desperate to win as a loss will end any hopes of finishing atop of the table.
The match will also mark a momentous occasion in Australian football, as captain Cass Davis officially breaks the record for most consecutive A-League matches, for both either Men or Women.
Here’s the full breakdown of Tuesday night’s match and everything you need to know:
MELBOURNE CITY V NEWCASTLE JETS
Date: Tuesday 1 March, 2022
Kick-off: 7:05pm
Venue: ABD Stadium
How to Watch: Paramount+
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played: 10
Jets: 0
Draws: 1
Melbourne City: 9
CASS DAVIS: RECORD-BREAKER
While both teams will be searching for victory, there’s a milestone taking place that almost exceeds the play on the field as midfielder and captain Cass Davis celebrates her 109th consecutive game, breaking the record currently held by Steven Ugarkovic and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
What’s even more impressive about this record is that it’s taken place over nine seasons – since Davis debuted back in 2013 – while the previous record took place over four and a half seasons.
With three games still remaining this season, Davis can push the record out to 111 games before next campaign, and who knows how long it could continue after that in her tenth season.
FIRST CITY WIN?
Since Melbourne City joined the competition in 2015, we’ve faced City on ten occasions yet still haven’t tasted a win.
There’s only been one occasion where we’ve managed to steal points off the four-time champions and Ash Wilson and her team will be hopeful of ending that drought and ruining their possible premiership charge.
Melbourne City are without a doubt the most challenging side our Jets have faced over the years, so the team will be up for the test and looking to bring their best.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cass Davis (Newcastle Jets)
Well how could we not pick her?
Tonight will see Davis step onto the pitch for the 109th game in a row, and while she’s been discussed heavily off the field leading into this one, her influence on the field shouldn’t be understated.
Davis has lead the team valiantly this season whether it’s from the back in defence, or in the heart of midfield.
She currently leads the league in accurate passes per match with almost 42 a game, and 76% accuracy.
She also leads the team stats in clearances, and has successfully won possession of the ball in midfield 36 times.
If Davis is able to control the midfield and tempo of the game in this one, it’ll go a long way in helping the team cancel out City’s efforts.
Rhianna Pollicina (Melbourne City)
This week a familiar face will show out against our Jets as Pollicina takes on our defensive line.
Pollicina featured for our Jets last season and managed two goals and two assists. Now with City, she’s found the back of the net six times and has proven to be a fierce attacking weapon.
Incredibly, she’s been player of the match in four of her 12 games, and leads her team in chances created.
Although we’re short on defenders this week, our Jets will need to be alert to her if we are to keep her at bay.
STATS & FACTS
Currently our team sits in seventh place after Canberra overtook us with their win. While finals are off the table, our Jets will still be focused on finishing as high as they can, and with nine points still available, every point counts.
We come up against a side who feature in the upper echelon of statistics across the league.
Melbourne City currently average the highest percentage of possession per game (55%), and are in the league’s top three for shots on target, accurate passes, goals per game, and goals conceded.
While we’ve struggled recently across various areas, one shining light has been our goalkeeper Claire Coelho who leads the league in saves per game.
With so many injuries experienced across the board for our team – with names such as Taren King, Gema Simon, Jemma House and Sunny Franco all missing – some of our younger players will be relied upon including academy products Lara Gooch and Josie Morley who both featured in last week’s outing.
