A taxing start to the Westfield W-League season for the Newcastle Jets with away games in Adelaide, followed by Perth, has Head Coach Wayne O’Sullivan and the team eager to play on home soil.
A taxing start to the Westfield W-League season for the Newcastle Jets with away games in Adelaide, followed by Perth, has Head Coach Wayne O-Sullivan and the team eager to play on home soil.
This wish comes to fruition this weekend when the Jets play Sydney FC on Saturday at EnergyAustralia Stadium in Round 3 of the Westfield W-League.
‘It-s nice to be home, they were two big trips, we knew that was the case, we travelled away, we travelled well, the girls played well, it-s just a little bit unfortunate with the result,- O-Sullivan said.
‘Our intention is we are going to play an attacking style of football. We like to build that style and in the Adelaide game I thought we built very well from the back through to midfield and we looked to them to improve that game in Perth in the final third and the statistics that came out of that game reflect we were just a bit unlucky on the day.-
But with the road trips behind them, preparation this week has been focused on the match against Sydney FC and the side many are tipping to be the ones to beat in Season 2.
‘It is against Sydney, so that always adds to the spice and Sydney lost the first game in their previous derby to Central Coast, they are a little bit sore from that then they went to Canberra and they got a 2-0 win there. So they are coming here on a win, they-ve got a very strong team, they have been tagged as one of the favourites for the league by a lot of people, but I know the girls are very confident, the girls have been playing very well so hopefully they can take that into the home game.”
With the Jets eager to secure a win, O-Sullivan has had Sydney under the microscope as he prepares his side for what will undoubtedly be a tough match.
“We-ve had them watched when they played Central Coast, both of those teams are actually two very strong teams and both play a good brand of football and Sydney in particular are strong right across the park, so I-m sure they will be very confident when they come up here, but we are very confident in our team as well, so hopefully come Saturday we can focus on that, but there is no doubt about it, of course we pay attention to the opposition, and they-ve got some very good players – a lot of experience of people who have played both in this league and overseas as well so they bring an awful lot of quality”
O-Sullivan though is hoping that a vocal home crowd and the atmosphere of EnergyAustralia Stadium will lift the Newcastle side. “We are hoping for a good crowd, it-s great for the girls to play in front of their local crowd,- O-Sullivan said.
