Tara Andrews believes Newcastle Jets are primed and ready to hand Sydney FC back-to-back Westfield W-League defeats on Sunday.
The 2018/19 Champions were beaten 2-1 by Melbourne City last week and, in Round 5, the Sky Blues travel to face their New South Wales rivals at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Jets are hovering three points outside of the Finals Series places after coming out of Round 4 with their first win of the campaign against Perth Glory on the road.
Nikki Flannery and Andrews were on target at Dorrien Gardens to record the Jets first win in 11 years in Western Australia.
Andrews, who has netted three goals in four Westfield W-League matches this season, insists Newcastle can tear up the form book again when they face Sydney FC on Sunday, 15 December at 4pm (AEDT).
“I think it’s perfect timing for an upset,” Andrews told w-league.com.au, ahead of the first match of a double header, which includes Newcastle’s Hyundai A-League match against Melbourne City.
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“We always have pretty good games against them.
“It’s a big rivalry for us, so I think if we can beat them, that’ll put us in pretty good stead for the rest of the season.
“They’re a great team so if we can beat them it’ll be pretty good.
“We’re towards the top of the table anyway, so it’s something we’ve been talking about, taking it game by game.
“If we get there, we’ve got a long way to go, but it’d be a really good confidence booster for us.”
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Tara Andrews season stats
Although confidence is already sky high among Craig Deans’ side, Andrews is well aware of the threats the reigning Champions can deploy.
The 25-year-old revealed the Jets will aim to upset the odds by cutting off the supply to Sydney’s creative midfielders.
“Caitlin Foord is a threat to any team,” she said.
“We know she can run at players and can score goals.
“Her and Remy Siemsen working together on the quick counter attack is something we’ve been working towards stopping.
“Obviously they’ve got Chloe Logarzo and Sophie Huerta in midfield, so they are two pretty dynamic players who can create something from nothing – so we’ll be trying to stop that from the source at the back.”
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The girls from the Hunter may not have the star-studded line-up of household names that the likes of Sydney FC and Melbourne City have at their disposal.
But what the Jets’ lack in star power, they make up for in team spirit, according to Andrews.
“It’s a massive bonus that we’re all local and young players,” she added.
“We have to work a lot harder than other teams because of the team we have.
“It brings us closer together and it just forms that team cohesion.
“You can see it on the field that we all go together, and press together and defend together, and work hard for each other.”
Newcastle Jets v Sydney FC
Date: Sunday, 15 November
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm AEDT
Match Centre
