Jump to content
Melbourne Football

Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne heart 5:30pm Saturday 8th March


kingofhearts
 Share

Recommended Posts

Would start Kewell.  In fact Kewell would be the 2nd guy I would pick.  The only question is who to leave out.  Whilst all of Williams, Mate, Ramsay & Germano are possibilities, to me its either Ramsay or Germano and personally I'd bench Germano and thus drop Kalmar.  The thought of Engelaar and Kewell linking up has me salivating already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would start Kewell.  In fact Kewell would be the 2nd guy I would pick.  The only question is who to leave out.  Whilst all of Williams, Mate, Ramsay & Germano are possibilities, to me its either Ramsay or Germano and personally I'd bench Germano and thus drop Kalmar.  The thought of Engelaar and Kewell linking up has me salivating already.

Agree, I would drop Germano and Have Engelaar drop into Def Mid and play Harry behind Williams. Risky though as Germano does a great job when we are without the ball.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Germano I though was one of the key players in the derby.  He often dropped deep to help the defence play out and we even to a back 3 with him in the center of defense.   I would keep him.

 

He also provides the hardness in the middle that neither Engelaar or Murdocca provide.  Against Victory he was the one who broke up the play against Rogic and Finkler.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ramsay should be dropped for Kewell - that is a no brainer! The guy cannot finish if his life depended on it! He's quick, he can whip a ball into the area, but hey, Kewell can do that better and much much more The only thing Ramsay has over Kewell is speed, but Kewell makes that up with his experience and composure!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we are going to need 14 out of the next 18 avaliable points to be firmly in the finals. So win the next three games and I think that will be that. Although we may need less as I expect the usual Sydney implosion toward the end of the season.

Edited by Dylan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

That first question "So John, another chance for another victory tomorrow"...

 

And JVS's response was gold: "every time you play a game there's a chance to win, to lose. or to make a draw so that's really true what you're saying". 

 

Big grin. 

 

That grin is priceless

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What has been most impressive is the aggression and constant pressuring by the players. Germano has been pivotal in this at dm allowing Murdocca and the Big O to buzz around in front of him. If we can continue that and keep another clean sheet then I am sure that we can take at least one or two chances to win again.

Stopping Taggart will go a long way to winning also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GAME DAY BITCHES!! FIRE UP!!

 

I have a wedding ceremony at 3:30pm and we have to be at the reception by 7:00pm, which means I'll probably only get to see the first half and 5mins of the second half; let's hope we've put the game beyond doubt by the 50min mark...65mins knowing my missus' getting ready routine! :up:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GAME DAY BITCHES!! FIRE UP!!

I have a wedding ceremony at 3:30pm and we have to be at the reception by 7:00pm, which means I'll probably only get to see the first half and 5mins of the second half; let's hope we've put the game beyond doubt by the 50min mark...65mins knowing my missus' getting ready routine! :up:

Sneaky phone stream for you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What has been most impressive is the aggression and constant pressuring by the players. Germano has been pivotal in this at dm allowing Murdocca and the Big O to buzz around in front of him. If we can continue that and keep another clean sheet then I am sure that we can take at least one or two chances to win again.

Stopping Taggart will go a long way to winning also.

Indeed.  JA's methods allowed Taggart to give the A League at large a lesson in what happens if you hang off him when he is 20-25 yards out.  Doubtlessly we won't be doing that this time around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jets game 'everything' to Heart, says Murdocca

 

Greg Prichard

 

8 March, 2014

 

Melbourne Heart star Massimo Murdocca says that after coming this far over the last seven rounds, the game against Newcastle Jets means "everything" to the team.

 

Heart lifted itself off the foot of the A-League table last weekend and plays the eighth-placed Jets, who are two points outside of the top six, at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.

 

But while Newcastle spent time in the top six earlier in the season, Heart was in quicksand until pulling itself out with a run of six wins and a draw that brings it to this game.

 

"Newcastle won last week and it's a big one for us this week," Murdocca told The World Game.

 

"If you don't win this, it doesn't matter about the future, everything would look a bit dim after that.

 

"This game is very important to us. It's everything - it's like a mini-final to us. We've got to give everything, make sure we get the points and keep going with our philosophy of playing good football."

 

A win to Newcastle could get it back into the top six, depending on other results. A win to Heart has the potential to bring it as close as one point from the six.

 

Murdocca was a two-time championship-winning player with Brisbane Roar before joining Heart this season. He doesn't make excuses and in post-match interviews when Heart wasn't getting results he told it how it was and didn't try to sugar-coat things.

 

So he is the perfect player to ask why this massive turnaround has occurred.

 

Murdocca says it mainly comes down to two things - and capitalising on chances is the first.

 

"It might sound simple, but I think the chances finally going in - when they weren't before - has got a lot to do with it, to be honest," he said.

 

"We just needed that ball to go in and it started happening, and you look at the Wellington game where we put five away and you knew that a couple of months before that they all would have missed.

 

"It was just the way it was, so I would say that, yeah, our chances started going in and it's turned everything around.

 

"I honestly believe we were playing well before we started going on our run, so it was a shame we weren't getting the results. But we're reaping the rewards now and we're quite happy about it.

 

"I think the game against Wellington three weeks ago took it to another level for us. It was another turning point where it was a crucial game due to the fact Wellington were an in-form team along with us.

 

"It was probably the first time we felt the pressure of 'we've got to produce here' and when we stepped up it was a whole new level of confidence and I think we really kicked on from that game."

 

The second thing, Murdocca says, is maintaining the on-field team structure.

 

"We had to build on our structure because it wasn't really as strong as it should have been," he said.

 

"Some weeks it was strong and other weeks it was non-existent.

 

"We've been trying to work on that and have a game plan each and every week that everyone abides by and understands and I think that's been getting stronger and I think that's the main reason we've been winning, to be honest."

 

Murdocca said he and the other experienced players at Heart had tried to steer the younger players through the difficult times by assuring them that it was still possible to get something out of the season.

 

"I mentioned to the boys the fact that in the second championship at Roar we lost five in a row at one stage that season," he said.

 

"It really opened their eyes and I think it helped keep the belief in the group. But that's just one example and other people had their own stories and we shared that along the way among little groups.

 

"We stuck together and kept working and when you hear those stories and learn what can happen you're never going to lose that belief.

 

"It takes the older players to use those experiences to keep the boys together and positive and I think we've done a good job in that area this year."

 

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1183574/Jets-game-everything-to-Heart-says-Murdocca

Edited by Murfy1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engelaar and Jaliens re-unite

 

David Manuca

 

8 March, 2014

 

Dutch imports Orlando Engelaar and Kew Jaliens come face to face on Saturday at Hunter Stadium, half-way around the globe from where they grew up as childhood friends.

 

Engelaar, 34, and Jaliens, 35, both moved to the Hyundai A-League this season after a number of years plying their trades in the top leagues of the world.

 

Little would have they thought, just less than twelve months after representing PSV Eindhoven and Wisla Krakow respectively, they would be coming up against each other down under.

 

Both grew up in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, with Engelaar spending time at the Feyenoord youth academy until the age of 20 when he signed with NAC Breda.

 

Jaliens stayed closer to home, and made his debut for local club Sparta Rotterdam at just the age of 18.

 

In the three seasons he was at the club he amassed almost 70 appearances before making the move South-East to sign for Willem II.

 

The defender was at the club for five years before moving to a bigger club again, this time to AZ Alkmaar. After that he moved on to Wisla Krakow in Poland, spending two years there and winning a championship in his first season.

 

Engelaar went on a different path after departing NAC in 2004, with stints at Belgium club Racing Genk and Bundesliga side Shalke 04 in between playing for FC Twente in Holland.

 

The Dutch giant then spent four years at PSV where he made 75 appearances and score six goals. Engelaar also represented Holland at Euro 2008, where he made four starts in their journey to the quarter-finals.

 

The childhood friends also played on the same team once, for Holland in a friendly game against Thailand in Bangkok in 2007. Jaliens was substituted on at half-time, while Engelaar played the last fifteen minutes after replacing Demy de Zeeuw.

 

But this afternoon, the friendship will be put on hold when Engelaar and Jaliens run out for opposing sides at Hunter Stadium.

 

Tune in to Fox Sports from 5pm AEST, or follow our Twitter account @MelbourneHeart for live updates.

 

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Engelaar-and-Jaliens-reunite/87795

Edited by Murfy1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

lulz, thought this game was tomorrow!

Nice surprise, keen for a big arvo and hopefully a big win  :)

Haha. So did I for some reason. I have plans that I can't break tomorrow so I was thinking I would have to miss out. Lol

 

Me too! Funniest thing is I was trying to re-arrange the plans so they'd fall today - right when the game's actually on, good thing I couldn't change anything anyway  :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Newcastle Jets: 1. Mark Birighitti (gk), 4. Kew Jaliens, 6. Zenon Caravella, 7. Andrew Hoole, 8. Ruben Zadkovich ©, 9. Emile Heskey, 14. Josh Mitchell, 15. Josh Brillante, 21. Sam Gallaway, 22. Adam Taggart, 29. Joel Griffiths 
 
Subs: 5. Ben Kantarovski, 11. Craig Goodwin, 20. Ben Kennedy (gk), 23. David Carney, 24. Mitchell Oxborrow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not a well balanced Jets team, Griffiths, Heskey and Taggart all do their best work through the centre, can see one getting shifted to the left wing and being massively innefective. We need to target their left hand side, Mitchell and Gallaway is a shocking left side of a defence.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can sort of understand JVS not changing the team too much, given that in the past 3 games Heart has scored 10 goals (5,1,4) and has conceded zero. You don't want to unsettle a team in such good form, even if there are better players on paper available.

 

I've been a bit critical of Williams, but I can fully understand why he's starting. Especially since the derby, Williams has become pretty good at passing and helping the team keep possession, by often dropping into midfield to receive the ball and then quickly passing to a teammate (often Ramsay). Also, if a player scores enough tap ins to get 10 goals in a season with 6 games to go, I'd have him starting (I also really think Williams' could improve his finishing, but still he's getting the job done).

 

Was hoping to see Kewell start. Hopefully he gets 20 or 30 minutes off the bench.

 

 

Today's tactics should be pretty simple, repeat last week's tactics. And hopefully keep the ball even longer, control the game and get a few goals from possession football. I think last week's match was just about perfect preparation to play dominating possession football against the Jets (I read that they plan to 'get in behind' Heart, so they might well play on the counter and that could play into Heart's hands).

 

 

I can't see any reason why Heart's streak should stop here. Good coach, good form and a fit Engelaar pulling the strings. I've got a feeling for some reason that it will be a bit close, so I tip Heart to win by a goal.

Edited by Murfy1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...