Assistant coach Craig Deans says the away game win has really given the team their self belief back.
What a great week we have had. To walk away with a draw and a win from two away games is such a wonderful result, especially after the last few rounds we have endured.
The team and coaches are relieved to put a stop to the away game drought.
It was a great win against the Brisbane Roar over the weekend. They were the best team from last season and that really motivated the boys to play hard. As soon as they hit the field they were more than competitive. The boys started to deliver the football we have been working towards.
To score a goal within the first 23 minutes and keep the majority of ball possession for the full 90 minutes is definitely a good result. The confidence that Jobe Wheelhouse-s goal gave the team was massive and to have not conceded one, was even better.
Having their captain Jobe score the winning goal after only just returning from injury is a great encouragement. To come back to the playing field only two games in and score in both of those two games, is exactly what the boys need to give them a boost.
Jobe is setting a great example and I-m sure that the rest of the team will follow. His teammates, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Tiago Calvano and Ben Kennedy have also been playing extremely good football of late and no doubt they will continue to produce on field for us.
In recent weeks we have asked a lot from the younger players like Jacob Pepper, Ben Kantarovski and Taylor Regan. Having them play every week, making them step up to fill the shoes of more senior and experienced players has been a massive request and they have delivered.
However having Jobe and Francis back with Michael Bridges on the field will take some of the pressure off the younger players and allow them to play more natural stress free football.
The away game win has really given the team their self belief back; struggling with consistency over the last few weeks has taken its toll. We shouldn-t have anymore away game jitters or fears, now that we have broken the twelve month-plus curse.
This weekend we take on Sydney FC at Sydney and it is going to be a hard game. Hopefully we will be returning to the Hunter with the three points, it would be disappointing if we didn-t, having come off the back of two good away game results.
Sydney play a similar game to Adelaide United and with that game still fresh in our heads from Wednesday, we will be replaying that game to gain insight into their formations and player duties on the field.
We must remain mindful of the experience and skill of Sydney. They are an extremely dangerous team and with former Newcastle Jets player Nicky Carle in their line up we mustn-t forget the task at hand.
Hopefully the Jets have turned a corner and from here on, it we will be stealing more victories.
However, we will not be getting carried away. There are still eight rounds of football to be played, so we will just be taking each game as it comes and not looking too far forward.
Craig
