Our Liberty A-League side look forward for their first midweek game this week when defending champions, Melbourne Victory, come to Newcastle.
Although originally scheduled to take place at No.2 Sportsground, the game was recently moved to McDonald Jones Stadium to set up a huge double header for football fans in the Hunter.
Our Women were unsuccessful last time out when they travelled to Adelaide, going down 3-0, but if they can manage to secure a win over Melbourne, it’ll be a huge bounce back as they look to keep in touch with the top four.
The Victory are currently enjoying a two-game win streak and have experienced mixed results so far throughout the season, however they still sit inside the top four.
Here’s your complete breakdown of our Matchday Eight fixture:
NEWCASTLE JETS V MELBOURNE VICTORY
Date: Tuesday 8 February 2022
Kick-off: 5:05pm
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
How to Watch: SECURE YOUR TICKETS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played: 20
Jets: 4
Draws: 2
Victory: 14
BUCKING THE TREND
There’s no sugar coating it – our recent form against Melbourne hasn’t been good.
In our past five matches our side has failed to pick up any points having lost on each occasion, with our last victory coming back in 2017, but our women will be out to change that.
The Club has only been able to secure four wins over Victory since the league’s inception, and they’ve proven to be one of our most difficult opponents.
With that being said, this season has seen our team put out strong numbers already, including a five-game unbeaten run that equalled the 2017/18 side’s record.
Our side has also proven that home is where the heart is having remained undefeated when playing in Newcastle – both at McDonald Jones Stadium and No.2 Sportsground – and if they can continue that trend, they’ll be able to hold on to hopes of finishing in the top four.
A TEST OF DEPTH
As our team experiences a highly congested schedule, it now means that strong depth is the key to success and all members of our squad – not just the starting XI’s – are vital.
In fantastic scenes, co-captain Gema Simon returned to the field on the weekend, however there have been some players confirmed as unavailable for this upcoming fixture.
Hannah Brewer and Tara Andrews both are out due to COVID-isolation, while Sunny Franco has also been ruled out after suffering a long-term ankle injury.
Many of our less experienced players will now be called on to step up, and they’ve already proven that they can with first-season rookies such as Kirsty Fenton, Lucy Johnson and Tiana Jaber all shining in big moments.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cass Davis (Newcastle Jets)
With multiple players unavailable for this game, it’s hard to go past our co-captain Cass Davis as a player to watch given her form so far this season, and her innate ability to cover numerous positions on the field.
While she’s been solid as a holding midfielder, Davis can also hold steady as a centre back and currently is one of the best passers in the league, averaging over 40 per game.
This match will be her 105th consecutive match, and she continues to edge closer to breaking the all-time A-Leagues record (108 games).
The strong leader will be relied upon both in attack where she’s picked up an assist and in defence where she is our best tackler, making two a game with a 73% success rate.
Kyra Cooney-Cross (Melbourne Victory)
The 19-year-old has proven to be one of the brightest youngsters coming through in Australia and has already appeared for the Matildas on 16 occasions.
The midfielder returns to the field after missing last match for suspension and leads her team in both successful dribbles and key passes.
The youngster already has an assit to her name too and her link up play with Zimmermand and Markovski will need to be nullified if we are to walk away with points.
STATS & FACTS
We enter this match having actually played the same amount of games (7) after Victory also experienced a few postponements in recent weeks.
While Melbourne have managed to find the back of the net on 16 occasions this season – an average of over two a game – their defence has struggled, leaking 13 goals. In contrast our side have conceded 12, while also scoring 12 for an even goal difference.
Our opponents have proven they enjoy keeping the ball and dominating possession, averaging over 54% each game, putting them second in the league in that department, and also enjoy the second accurate passing stats.
Defensively, the Jets lead the league in most saves made per match, with our goalkeepers averaging over five, while we still sit at the bottom of the competition in tackles made per game, however Victory are only just above us.
