Statistical roadblock between Jets and McDonald Jones Stadium momentum

February has been an enthralling month in the Hyundai A-League with no fewer than 51 goals scored at an average of 3.4 per match.

Home teams have registered at least one goal in each game throughout the month to date, scoring an average of two per match and losing on just four occasions (W7, D4).

But not every club is plundering goals freely in their own backyard.

Newcastle Jets, victorious in last weekend’s meeting with Melbourne City, must address their profligacy at McDonald Jones Stadium if domestic momentum is to be maintained.

Here, Opta assesses the attacking prowess of Hyundai A-League sides on home soil, as well as the success of goalkeepers in front of their own fans.

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Victory lethal on familiar turf

Melbourne City and Perth Glory are the only teams to have incurred only single home losses this season, with both sides yet to taste defeat on their own patch in 2019.

It’s hardly all good news for Warren Joyce, though, given his team are enduring a poor run of results and have to take on Victory at Marvel Stadium this weekend.

Kevin Muscat’s men lead all comers in terms of shot conversion rate (15.6 per cent) in home matches, ahead of even prolific Perth (15.2 per cent).

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Newcastle sit bottom of the list, converting a paltry 7 per cent of their shots at McDonald Jones Stadium into goals.

The Jets have been happy to unleash a flurry of shots, striking 18.2 per match, the most of any team at home; however, they have scored just once every 74 minutes, the third-least frequent of any side.

Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners have likewise given their fans little to cheer.

Mike Mulvey’s men have managed a goal every 80 minutes in Gosford, while Wanderers have only found a way through visiting sides every 75 minutes.

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Fine form for shot-stoppers old and new

The Mariners are the only side yet to keep a clean sheet at home this season but will have a great chance to correct that stat when they host Brisbane Roar this week.

Roar are low on confidence following a heavy loss in Perth and have of course lost one of the competition’s premier strikers in Adam Taggart, which gives the likes of Jonathan Aspropotamitis and Sam Graham one less threat to worry about.

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Hyundai A-League veteran Ben Kennedy found form with seven valuable stops on the road to Sydney FC last time out, but his save percentage stands at less than 60 per cent at Central Coast Stadium this season.

The best gloveman in home matches this season has been Wellington Phoenix newcomer Filip Kurto, who boasts the second-most saves (32) and equal-best save percentage (72.7 per cent) for a goalkeeper with at least five appearances this season.

He gets the chance to replicate Kennedy’s recent efforts this weekend when Wellington head across the Tasman to take on Sydney FC.

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