Perth Glory will be looking to continue their impressive record against Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium, as the race for finals football comes to a head.
A win for Perth Glory would mathematically guarantee finals football for the boys from the West, while the home side must win to keep their slim hopes of pipping Melbourne Victory to sixth-place alive. Glory ended Wellington Phoenix’s hopes of reaching the Hyundai A-League finals last weekend with a dominant 2-1 victory away in New Zealand.
Glory have catapulted themselves into finals contention since the middle of the Hyundai A-League season, winning eight of their last nine games. Two of those victories came against the Jets, including a memorable 6-1 thrashing in Newcastle in Round 16.
In-form striker Andy Keogh believes Glory’s attacking philosophy has been the cornerstone for the club’s onfield success.
“I think a lot of teams find it difficult to defend against us,” said Keogh.
“We always look like we’re going to create chances now and are really dominating in terms of attacking play.
“It’s a joy to be a part of and I think it can only get better.”
Despite scoring a highly impressive 8 goals in 11 A-League games since re-joining the club mid-season, Keogh still believes he hasn’t hit his peak this campaign.
“I probably wouldn’t say I’m 100 per cent fit yet, but I’m getting there,” Keogh said.
“I’ll just take one game at a time, try to improve every game, get fitter every week and go from there.
“I’m enjoying my football and I’m enjoying playing with this team.”
Glory will fancy their chances coming into the Round 25 clash; Perth haven’t lost to the Novocastrian side since 2011, a Hyundai A-League record for most consecutive matches undefeated against any opponent (13). Glory have also only lost to the Jets just six times in 45 games, a head-to-head statistic spanning 11 years.
With three Hyundai A-League regular season matches left to play, Glory currently sit 6 points ahead of 7th placed Sydney FC and 3 points ahead of reigning champions Melbourne Victory in 6th. Glory also trail Adelaide United in fourth place by just 3 points.
A ninth win in ten matches for Perth Glory would see the club propel to 40 points on the A-League ladder, before facing Melbourne City in our last home game on April 3 and Sydney FC away at Allianz Stadium on April 10.
We kick off against Newcastle Jets at 2:15pm WST (5:15pm local) at Hunter Stadium. You can watch the game on Fox Sports 4 (Channel 505).
Match Details
Saturday, 26 March 2016
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory
Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-Off: 5:15 PM (Local) (5:15 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referee 1: Ryan Gallagher
Assistant Referee 2: Kearney Robinson
Fourth Official: Trent Nash
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 4 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #NEWvPER
Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI, 6.Cameron WATSON, 7.Enver ALIVODIC, 8.Mateo POLJAK, 9.Milos TRIFUNOVIC, 10.LEONARDO, 12.Andy BRENNAN, 14.Mitch COOPER, 16.Steven UGARKOVIC, 17.Radovan PAVICEVIC, 19.Morten NORDSTRAND, 20.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 22.Lachlan JACKSON, 24.Nicholas COWBURN, 28.Ryan KITTO
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 12.Andy BRENNAN (promoted), 14.Mitch COOPER (promoted), 17. Radovan PAVICEVIC (promoted)
Outs: 2.Daniel MULLEN (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 11.Labinot HALITI (knee – season)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 21.Kosta PETRATOS, 23.Kristian VADOCZ, 24.Jamal REINERS, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC (returns from injury), 13.Diogo FERREIRA (promoted), 29.Aryn WILLIAMS (promoted)
Outs: 19.Josh RISDON (international duty – 1 week)
Unavailable: 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite)
