Goals. They’re the Jets issue and unless they start flying in with regulation the Jets won’t move up the ladder.
Team: Newcastle Jets
Current position: Sixth | 27 points
The run home: Wellington Phoenix (a), Melbourne Victory (a), Perth Glory (h), Adelaide United (a), Wanderers FC (h)
The question: Is there enough firepower?
Everyone says Emile Heskey is the man, but with Ryan Griffiths gone the former England international is going to have to step up even further if Newcastle are to feature in the finals.
Craig Goodwin found the net often early in the season but his goals have dried up, as have the team-s in general. Of late Michael Bridges has been added into van Egmond-s version of dad-s army, whether he makes a difference on the goal-scoring front remains to be seen. The Jets need goals from another source and they need to find that source in quick fashion.
The big match: Round 27 v Wanderers FC
With one win each and three goals each in the two fixtures so far, this match looms as an even contest and one which the Jets will likely need to grab some points from to assure themselves of a finals berth.
There will be pressure coming at the Jets from the Roar and Sydney, who kick off the final round on the Thursday and if the Roar were to pull an upset the situation at Hunter Stadium could be anyone-s guess.
Thankfully for the Jets they stack up well against the Wanderers and also play that hard-defensive style of football. It serves them well but make no mistake, this match might just be the one that decides if they play finals football or not, and after the heartbreak of losing to Sydney FC in the final round last year, the Jets are due for some luck.
The Player: Mark Birighitti There might not be a keeper who has had more to prove this season than Birighitti. His time at the club got off to an inauspicious start with a red card, then came that broken jaw, but since then he has made his time between the posts a winner.
Given the Jets occasional inability to score (they have the worst attack of any top six side), he is arguably more important than any other keeper looking at finals and needs to remain in top form to keep the Jets in the hunt.
We say: Heartbreak last year, heartbreak this year. The Jets will be in contention but a very tough last few games will hurt them. They have the runs on the board against the top sides but they lack the ability to finish things. There is too much pressure on the defence for them to sustain.
Prediction: Seventh | 32 points
