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Both Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory will be looking to back up round three wins with another three points tonight when they meet at Hunter Stadium. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 7.30pm AEDT.
Del Piero has played his first game, scored his first goal and won his first derby, the Wanderers have been scoring goals off the field, even without scoring any on it and the Roar have started to show glimmers of the brilliance that has blessed Suncorp over the past two years.
Welcome to round four of the A-League season. The afterglow of what has been probably the best start to the season since version one is beginning to fade – and the time is now for all 10 of the A-League teams to make some serious statements on the pitch.
What better way to start our feast of football this weekend than with Melbourne Victory’s visit to Hunter Stadium.
Under Ange Postecoglou, the Victory were expected to set the completion ablaze this season with his brand of attacking, tika-taka football.
Things haven’t quite gone to plan as yet, but the Victory have finally started to show some sparks of improvement. A much needed win over rivals Adelaide last weekend will do wonders for their confidence, as will the arrival of Australian international Nathan Coe.
Coe’s tale is an interesting one. Having held contracts at both Internazionale and PSV Eindhoven, he has been mooted for years as the next product off Australia’s production line of world-class keepers.
But after a few – let’s say solid – seasons in the Danish top flight, Coe found himself at 28 years old without a club.
A move to the Victory might not have been exactly what he had in mind when he left SonderjyskE in search of a better team, but it may just turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Postecoglou has already guaranteed that he will start in tonight’s clash – and with a little bit of game time for A-League’s biggest team, Coe’s star may once again start to shine.
The youthful Newcastle Jets have so far fared better than the Victory. Two wins in a row have sprung them to equal first in the competition, and with superstar import Emile Heskey netting in both those games, they enter this clash brimming with confidence.
Craig Goodwin has probably been the pick of Newcastle’s youngsters, and with the selection of December’s all home-based Australia squad for the East Asian Cup on the horizon you can bet that the 20-year-old will once again be looking to stake claim for a Socceroos spot.
Prediction
Flip a coin. Season eight is still young and the contenders have yet to be separated from the pretenders, and it will really depend on which Melbourne Victory shows up.
If it’s the one that played against Brisbane Roar in round two, they will be romped by van Egmond’s well drilled Jets.
But if the Big V can start to wield some of their considerable talent, it will be a different story.
Combined, these teams have already leaked 13 goals between them – so expect an open game. If pressed to make a guess I’d go with a 3-2 win to the Jets. Victory has lost four out of its past six visits to Hunter Stadium and I wouldn’t expect the parochial Newcastle crowd to make it any easier for them this time around.
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