- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Wellington Phoenix have romped home to an emphatic 5-0 victory over a helpless Newcastle Jets outfit at Westpac Stadium.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Wellington Phoenix 5
Newcastle Jets 0
The Wellington Phoenix and Newcastle Jets will be looking to bounce back after both suffered disappointing losses last week that put a dint in their respective chances of playing finals. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from the Westpac Stadium starting from 5pm AEDT.
We approach the pointy end of the season and both the Phoenix and the Jets sit outside the top six and will be desperate to find a way to jump back in.
It was back to the drawing board for the Phoenix this week who after gaining momentum after some positive results went down to the Wanderers which has now really impacted their chances of participating in this season’s finals series.
Likewise the Jets are currently in a slump of poor form having not claimed the three points in their last six matches after a promising start to the season.
Their poor form was epitomised in last week’s thumping at the hands of Melbourne City, the result being Newcastle’s heaviest defeat of the season, with most of the damage done late in the second half.
The last time these two sides met was on Boxing Day where three former teammates in Barbarouses, Finkler and Nabbout all got on the scoresheet in an evening where the spoils were shared in what was a very entertaining match.
At the time one would have thought that it would be a different story for the Jets who were very impressive playing exciting football.
The last few weeks may have been dire for the Jets but they will be very determined to get on the park this week with history being on their side in recent history in this fixture.
The Jets have won three out of their last five against the Phoenix, however, are yet to topple the Phoenix this season.
Defensively both sides will look to tighten up ahead of this match having both conceding 41 goals after 23 rounds.
Wellington will be determined to get off to an early start due to the Jets statistically being poor starters to matches having conceded seven goals within the first fifteen minutes.
The International break has come at a bad time for both these sides where every goal and point counts ahead of the finals. Wellington have seven players out representing their nation which has forced a number of changes to the side that lost to the Wanderers.
Of those players includes Roy Krishna, Andrew Durante and Shane Smeltz which gives 18 year old Sarpeet Singh and Logan Rogerson an opportunity for their debuts.
In significant contrast the Jets have not been impacted by the International break and will bolstered with Jason Hoffman who returns from suspension, as well as having Joel Alright and Tomislav Arcaba back in the team.
Andrew Nabbout has been a revelation since joining the Jets, rejuvenating not only his career but has been a heavy contributor to Newcastle’s surge towards the finals.
Nabbout is currently the leading goal scorer at the Jets with eight goals and will be looked upon in this match to exploit a Wellington defence that is far from full strength.
This match has the finals hopes of both sides riding on it meaning that we could be set for a highly entertaining 90 minutes.
It will be extremely tough for Wellington who will be without a number of their key players however we have seen young sides pull a few surprises out of the bag against a full strength opponent which should give the Phoenix some hope.
If the Jets are serious about making the finals they will not hold back, especially against a depleted Wellington outfit.
Prediction: Newcastle 2-1
Will the Jets pile the pressure on the top six? Or will they be denied by a young Phoenix outfit? Join The Roar from 5pm (AEDT) to find out.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.