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
fletadobsonlbku.soup.io
Guest
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Davo
Guest
I really enjoyed that match. Well done to both teams - very glad to see heart get back into the league. (Nix supporter)
Stevo
Guest
WE WON!!!!! Not sure what to do now???? Very strange feeling ...
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
FULL TIME Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets A memorable victory for Heart in their 100th A-League outing. I said in my preview Harry Kewell will need to be on-song if the Heart have any hope of getting a result out of this game, and he has been awarded Man of the Match by the broadcasters. That's not to take away from the efforts of numerous other Heart players who performed admirably in their side's victory, notably Mate Dugandzic - who twice found the back of the net - as well as Iain Ramsay. As for the Jets, it is their third loss from the last four outings, and coach Gary van Egmond will surely start feeling the pressure that little bit more, given his side has shown glimpses of their best in spades throughout the season, but continue to disappoint their fans. Newcastle are clearly missing the likes of Adam Taggart up forward - exemplified with the side's lack of conviction in the front-third - and will be counting down the days until the striker returns from international duty. Despite Heart's win to escape an unwanted record, they remain rooted to the bottom of the table, six points behind Wellington Phoenix. Meanwhile, Newcastle stay in sixth position, level on points with Sydney FC and Perth Glory, who play later this weekend. Next up, Melbourne Heart face a difficult trip to the ever-improving Adelaide, while Newcastle will need to bounce back as they host derby rivals Central Coast. That's it from me tonight. Thank you for joining for me for this intriguing and history-making match-up at AAMI Park. Feel free to follow me on Twitter at @rustywoodger if you'd like to continue discussions of the game. Until next time... Cheers!
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Well done to the Heart
jamesb
Guest
Finally Melbourne showed some Heart!
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
FULL TIME Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Can you believe it?! Finally... it's over! Melbourne Heart end their 19-game streak without a victory thanks to a deserving 3-1 win over Newcastle. It is their first win of the season and takes them to 8 competition points.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
90' + 4 Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Jets attempting to make runs forward but the Heart have managed to stem their attacks on each occasion. Heart earn a free kick in their forward half and seek to further eat up the clock in anticipation of the referee's whistle.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
90′ + 3 Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Enormous police presence in front of the Yarraside supporters in anticipation of the final whistle. Fair to say it's just a bit over the top for a rather small crowd.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
90′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Kewell fouled on the edge of the box as another Jets player goes into the book. Engelaar stands over the freekick and ..... strikes it well, but the ball goes straight into the hands of Birighitti. FOUR MINUTES OF ADDED TIME.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
90′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Brown turns left, right, and then left in the box before shooting on goal. Redmayne makes a solid save diving on his left before rushing to his feet to unleash a Heart counter attack.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
89′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Mifsud wins a corner intelligently, as Heart seem happy to eat up the clock. Ramsay in no rush whatsoever to take the corner.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
88′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Newcastle stuck with the ball in the midfield. Huge pressure from Heart players is making it difficult for the Jets to move the ball forward.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
87′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Newcastle are fast running out of time and will need to throw caution to the wind if they have any hope of getting something out of this match.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
85′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets SUBSTITUTION (Heart): OFF: Dugandzic ON: Garuccio A large ovation for two-goal hero Dugandzic as he makes his way from the pitch.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
84′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Zadkovich controls the ball with his feet at the edge of the box before searching for Heskey at the near post. The former England international can't get to it though and Redmayne ends up with it.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
83′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Heart break away with a 2v2. Mifsud goes to play Kewell in on the keeper but his pass is too heavy and the sting falls out of the attack.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
80′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Massimo Murdocca sporting a huge bandage across his face to stem a bloodied nose, by the look of things. The obscured midfielder's face would probably lead to his eviction from the A-League stadium if he were a spectator (and if we are to believe the words of A-League boss Damien de Bohun)!
daniel
Guest
Go heart you have won your first match
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
78′ Melbourne Heart 3-1 Newcastle Jets Heart skipper Harry Kewell makes a solid run, feints a shot before unleashing on goal. The strike stings the palms of Birighitti, with Mifsud's follow-up leading to the linesman raising his offside flag.