These two teams met in Round 1, with the Jets getting the win thanks to a freak late goal from Sung-Hwan Byun which gave them a 3-2 win.
Date: Saturday November 12
Kick-off: 5:30pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Head-to-head
Played 4: Wins: Melbourne Heart 1, Newcastle Jets 2, Drawn: 1
Previous encounter
Newcastle Jets 3, Melbourne Heart 2, October 2011
History:
These two teams met in Round 1, with the Jets getting the win thanks to a freak late goal from Sung-Hwan Byun which gave them a 3-2 win. Prior to that Ryan Griffiths and Mate Dugandzic had scored two goals apiece in an entertaining game.
Last season, their three encounters were split with a draw and a win to either side. The Jets prevailed 2-0 in their last trip to Melbourne last December, despite playing much of the match with just ten men.
Form:
Melbourne Heart: LLDDD
Newcastle Jets: WLWLW
Form Summary:
Melbourne Heart can’t seem to buy a win at the moment having led in their past two games, only to have conceded equalisers at home to Sydney and then away to Adelaide. They have been very competitive in their five games to date, as their minus-2 goal difference would indicate and just need a change of luck to get the right result.
Newcastle have moved to second on the table thanks to their third win of the season against Perth Glory last week. They have won their three home games and lost their two away matches this year. Their poor road form stretches back to last season and a six-match losing streak, while the only teams they have beaten away from home since the start of last season are the Heart and the now defunct North Queensland Fury.
Match Committee:
Melbourne Heart lose defender Simon Colosimo through suspension with new signing Adrian Madaschi a chance to make his debut. Curtis Good is still on international duty, while Eli Babalj is nearing a return from his pre-season injury. Fred should be right to start having come on a sub in last week’s 1-1 draw in Adelaide.
Newcastle are without Ruben Zadkovic (hamstring) for this match and probably a couple more. Francis Jeffers has had a run under the belt and is likely to have benefitted greatly from his 67 minutes against Perth, while Gary van Egmond will decide later in the week if he throws ‘new’ recruit Michael Bridges straight back in.
Danger men:
Brendan Hamill – Hamill has long been regarded as a defender on considerable promise, but last week announced himself as a threat going forward as well, scoring his first professional goal with a terrific long strike. Without Colosimo this week, he will have plenty of work to do in defence, but will be keen for another sight at the goals at the other end.
Jeremy Brockie – Brockie has had a breakout few weeks scoring three goals in the past three games. His two goals in last week’s win over Perth were both brilliant in their own way and there’s no doubt when he is in this type of form, he is one of the most dangerous strikers in the league.
At the end of the day…
The respective positions of these two sides on the table are indicative of what happens when one side takes their chances and another side doesn’t. When they met in Week 1, only a fluky deflection separated them and since that time, Heart’s bad luck has rolled on, while the Jets have looked good in their two subsequent matches at home.
As mentioned earlier, the Jets have a bit of an issue on the road and have lost comfortably in their two trips this year to Gold Coast and Wellington. There is no doubt that is something that Van Egmond will look to redress early in his tenure because they will need to pick up points away if they are to be considered a contender.
The added experience of Bridges and Jeffers will make a big difference to them in this regard and we can expect to see both of them make some contribution in this match.
Heart have plenty of upside to them, despite their early winless run and of they can find their sharp edge in front of goal, they will get that first win sooner rather than later. While Colosimo’s absence will be felt, the return of Fred to full fitness will give them some direction going forward.
That’s why this looms as an opportune time for Heart to shrug off their early troubles and get a deserved home victory, just their second in over 12 months,
Teams: TBC
