A spot in the finals is on the line, and just how that pressure is handled may dictate the outcome of Sunday’s mammoth Westfield W-League clash.
Another factor in this one is also the history – in six games previous, the Newcastle Jets have never taken so much as a point from Melbourne City.
This weekend though, they’ll have to break that dry spell and take all three points to stay in the running for a spot in the top four.
SQUAD: Deansy announces his 16
If last weekend is anything to go by, the Jets are a huge chance.
The 3-1 win over Perth Glory was an unexpected yet dominant one, with Arin Wright and Libby Copus-Brown amongst the most impressive on the pitch for the Jets.
Also fighting for their season, Melbourne City will need three points to give themselves a shot at the top four.
Currently in sixth, they’ve lost their last two outings: a 1-0 defeat at home to Brisbane, and 1-0 away to Victory.
Team news
No news is good news, right?
That’s the story for Deansy’s side this weekend, with the boss naming the same squad for the second week running.
Renee Pountney was the unfortunate one which was omitted last Saturday, and she may find it difficult to break back into the side after good performances across the board against Perth.
Cortnee Vine came off the bench to ice the cake for the Jets in that win over the Glory, and if it’s another cameo she grabs then the youngster will be keen to take the chance with both hands.
From the coach
“We have to win every game from here on in, so a win this weekend is the plan. We’ve never been in a position where we thought we couldn’t beat them, and last game, to be fair we had a couple of good chances which went missing,” assistant coach, Ash Wilson said.
“We’ve got just as good a chance, there’s a lot of self-belief. It has to start somewhere.
“Definitely [take confidence from last week]. We keep talking about what the girls are capable of, even with Em, Katie, Taylor missing, the girls stepped up and it wasn’t a case of one or two having a good game, it was everyone.
“It’s a case of taking each game as they come, this week it’s Melbourne City, points, and then keep building from there. The next couple of weeks are like finals for us, because we’re in a position where we don’t have anything to lose, we just have to keep winning.”
