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Melbourne Heart’s Friday night encounter with Newcastle Jets is shaping to be a history-making affair on several fronts – yet it is all the wrong reasons that are set to form the post-match headlines. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 7.30pm AEDT.
Lining up for their 100th A-League fixture, the bottom-of-the-table Heart will be hoping for a victory to not only celebrate the occasion, but to also avoid claiming an unenviable record.
Failure to secure the three points at AAMI Park would condemn Heart to their twentieth consecutive league match without a victory – surpassing a streak set in the A-League by the now-defunct New Zealand Knights.
Standing in the way of a momentary red-and-white redemption is Newcastle, a side struggling for consistency, yet one that has shown glimpses of what it is capable of achieving.
Currently sitting in sixth position and level on points with Perth Glory and Sydney FC, the Jets are without a victory since winning on the road in Brisbane on December 20.
Despite two recent losses and a draw, a win against Heart would see Gary van Egmond’s side leapfrog local rivals Central Coast and into fourth position, at least until the Mariners face up to Sydney on Saturday evening.
With Melbourne Heart presently enduring a season from hell, which has so far seen a coaching upheaval and just nine goals from 14 outings, one might expect a Newcastle triumph to be a foregone conclusion.
Nevertheless, John van ‘t Schip’s men may yet have an ace up their sleeves.
Rooted at the bottom of the table and nine points off the team above them, the league’s whipping boys are set to receive a major boost with Dutch marquee signing Orlando Engelaar returning to the senior squad for the first time since breaking his leg during preseason.
It is unclear how much van ‘t Schip intends to use Engelaar, however early indications are the 34-year-old former Schalke and PSV Eindhoven midfielder will play a bit-part role off the bench.
Potentially swaying the tide further in van ‘t Schip’s favour is the fact Newcastle are still without top scorer Adam Taggart, as well as fellow young talents Josh Brillante, Andrew Hoole and Connor Chapman. All of whom remain on international duty with the Australian under-22 side.
If Melbourne are to have any hope of avoiding their unwanted mark in history, they will be relying heavily on skipper Harry Kewell, who has little excuse not to perform after several games back following a prolonged injury layoff.
At the other end of the pitch, with a midfield comprising of Ruben Zadkovich, Ben Kantarovski and Zenon Caravella, there should be plenty of opportunities for the likes of Jacob Pepper and Emile Heskey to force their names onto the scoresheet for the Hunter side.
The Jets have the recent wood over Heart having won their two previous encounters in convincing fashion 3-1 and 2-0 respectively.
Despite their depleted stocks, it is hard to see Newcastle succumbing to a Heart side whose form over the last 12 months does not exactly warrant reverence.
Either way, with Melbourne forecasted to reach 44 degrees during the day – followed by the chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon – tonight at AAMI Park is shaping to be a hot and tense affair both on and off the pitch.
Prediction
Melbourne Heart 1-2 Newcastle Jets