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The Newcastle Jets play their first home game for the season against the Perth Glory, who suffered an opening-round loss. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5pm (AEDT).
For Newcastle, the theme this week will be BB King’s Let the Good Times Roll, after their historic 5-1 victory over the Mariners.
While it is only round 2, for the Jets, the completion of the opening round was their second time atop the A-League table in the club’s history. However, their first time on top was last season, and we know how that turned out for the Novocastrians.
Perth were very spirited against the Wanderers, and might feel slightly aggrieved to have come away from that game with nothing to show for it. Travel may be a factor, but when is travel not a factor for the Glory, who again find themselves on the eastern seaboard for the second Sunday in a row.
The main man to watch will be Rory O’Donovan. He was involved in all five of Newcastle’s strikes against the Mariners (three goals, two assists), and he will be eager to not only keep his own form going, but he should be just as hungry to put on a show for his new home fans.
Also on a hot-streak, the Ronaldo-imitating Dimi Petratos (both in number and goal celebration), who has talked up his game during the week of more to come.
For Perth, the more things change, the more they stay the same, with Castro again showing his class against Western Sydney.
The Western Australians will be buoyed by another productive performance from the Spanish maestro, and if he can find his groove, the Jets will find the going tough. It wouldn’t surprise to see Adam Taggart get on the scoresheet once again, in front of his old home crowd.
It’s the battle of Britain in the coaches’ boxes, and while Kenny Lowe will hope that he does not enter round 3 without a point, Ernie Merrick will be eager to follow up with a spectacular opening 3 points, and make that tally 6.
Prediction
The key for this match is how the Jets handle expectation.
The Jets are good at springing the occasional surprise (see their 4-0 win over Brisbane last year), but how will they stand up when expected to.
The Jets will be hoping that a big turnover of staff in the off-season will mean they won’t be one-round wonders. Perth will not be easy, but it really should be home field advantage that gets the Jets home.
Curiously, the team that beat Perth in round 1 (WSW) drew 2-all with the team thumped by Newcastle in round 1 (Central Coast) overnight. So form could mean everything, or this early on, it could mean absolutely nothing.
Newcastle 2-0.
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