The Newcastle Jets welcome Perth Glory to Hunter Stadium this Saturday afternoon hoping to reverse their terrible record against the men from the West.
Newcastle will go into the match full of confidence after an impressive display in a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory. The Jets were by far the better outfit in a match they should have won, despite being reduced to 10 men for two dubious yellow cards handed out to Daniel Mullen. Replays also showed that Besart Berisha’s second-half equaliser was offside, in what turned out to be one of those unfortunate days for the Jets.
Scott Miller’s side will need to be at their best if they are to give the Glory a shake, as they continued on their merry way with a clinical 2-1 disposal of the Phoenix in Wellington. Kenny Lowe has his team firing at the right end of the campaign and their impressive second half of the season already includes 6-1 and 2-0 victories over their upcoming opponents.
Newcastle will be primed for a big performance this weekend and will be led out through a guard of honour of former football legends on Old Boys Day in what has become a tradition at the club for the final home match of the season. Former stars such as Joel Griffiths and Andy Roberts will be in attendance as they hope to provide the extra impetus to get the Jets over the line on one of the biggest days of 2015-16 in Newcastle.
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Key Battle – Nigel Boogaard vs Diego Castro
If the hosts are to get something from the match on Saturday afternoon, Nigel Boogaard will have to keep Diego Castro in check. The ex-Adelaide defender will feel that he owes his side in this one too as he was the man who was sent-off on the stroke of halftime when the teams last met in Newcastle. Castro was simply superb after the sending off and conducted the orchestra beautifully as the Glory mercilessly hammered six past the helpless Jets. If Boogaard and company let Castro off the leash yet again, then one of the favourites for the Johnny Warren Medal can and will likely be the decisive factor in the contest.
Team News
Mullen will miss due to his suspension last weekend for his two unlucky yellow cards which means the Jets will again be forced into a reshuffle at the back. It seems to be a recurring theme and the unsettled backline is the main reason the team now face mission impossible to make the finals. Ben Kantarovski is likely to come in for Mullen as he pushes to earn a new contract for next season.
CrownBet match odds at time of publishing
The Glory will miss one of their best this weekend with Josh Risdon being away with the Socceroos. The loss will be offset by the inclusions of Diogo Ferreira and the return from injury of key midfielder Nebojsa Marinkovic.
Head-to-head
The Glory is famously dominant in this fixture and they lead the all-time record on 20 wins compared to six, with the teams also drawing on six other occasions. The Jets have only won 18.8% of fixtures against the Glory.
Previous Meeting
It was only around a month ago when the Jets added to their horror record in the West as they were beaten 2-0 by the Glory in a match where, yes you guessed it, Mullen was sent-off for two yellow cards. Andy Keogh and Gyorgy Sandor struck either side of halftime for the home side.
Prediction
Normally one would just say the Glory and by how many in this one, but the Jets have been showing real signs in the last few weeks that they are building towards something over the concluding rounds of the season. They were desperately unlucky last week only to leave AAMI Park with a draw and they should be primed and ready to go in front of the Old Boys this Saturday. The Glory is still one of the most dangerous sides in the competition and could go all the way to the title, but this one has the smell of an upset written all over it.
Newcastle Jets 2 Perth Glory 1
*CrownBet match odds at time of publishing are subject to change
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