Despite only needing a draw to progress to the next round of Asian Champions League Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond said the Jets will be playing for a win against Ulsan Hyundai in Korea on Wednesday night.
The Jets, buoyed by last fortnight’s last-gasp 2-1 home win over Beijing, travel to Korea needing a draw but will be hoping to claim their first away victory in the ACL and automatic progression to the round of 16.
“We know they have to win the game and get all three points and we only have to get a point but having said that I don’t think it will be right mindset for us to go over there and think we are just going to ‘park the bus’ in front of goal and try to defend and attack on the break,” van Egmond said.
“That is not going to win us the game and we need to ensure that we look for opportunities when they present themselves and with respect to the opposition we don’t want to give them too much respect and go into our shell.”
The Newcastle coach said he had done his homework on the Korean team and identified a number of ‘danger’ players but was cautious of directing play towards individuals.
“We have watched them play in their domestic league and the Asian Champions League and have played against them once before,” he said.
“They play a very direct game and have big players and are physically a strong team so w are expecting a physical game. We need to make sure we are not overpowered and get into battle with them but instead keep the ball on the deck.”
“We believe they have a number of good players that could turn a game at any moment so we are treating the whole team as a threat.”
In team news, Newcastle’s Italian import Fabio Vignaroli has trained fully with the team over the past two days and looks to have overcome his hamstring injury, so he will take some part in Wednesday night’s game.
Meanwhile, central defender Ljubo Milicevic is expected to shake off a groin strain to be fully fit come kick-off time while Ben Kantarovski will return from suspension to replace Adam Griffiths who will watch the game from the sidelines after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in the win over Beijing.
“It will be interesting how the game goes,” added van Egmond.
“This is a very big game for both teams. I believe it will be an entertaining match which should have end-to-end football and will be very exciting for the spectators.”
