Does Heskey time exist in Perth?

@FromTheStandsAL Game of the week

Emile Heskey is an ALeague revelation; he has now scored 4 goals in 4 matches and has shot Newcastle to equal top stop on the table.  Five minutes of brilliance changed the game last week from the former England striker and sent Victory packing without any points in their hand luggage on their flight home.  Whilst Heskey has taken all the plaudits this week we cannot forget the heroics of keeper Mark Birighitti who keep his team in the game through making some great saves.

Perth managed to outplay Sydney without taking any points from the match, something they will look to atone this week.  Without being outstanding in the early part of the season Perth are undefeated at home and will be looking to add another three points to their tally.  The battle between Heskey and one of the best defenders in the league Jacob Burns promises to be special.

Saturday Night 21:45 AEST          NIB Stadium

Formline – Perth LOSS WIN LOSS              Jets WIN WIN WIN

Head to Head – Glory 10 wins     Draws 5         Jets 6 wins

On every A-League supporters watch it has been #HeskeyTime all week, but I don’t think that’s the case for our Perth Glory fan David Meacock (@Meacod)

We’re extremely lucky in the A-League to have access to the world’s finest referees and the most unbiased team of commentators and media analysts to ever have covered football. We are also blessed with spectacular goals like the Del Piero penalty or the first-ever time Western Sydney bothered the scorers, as opposed to the dredge that is Travis Dodd’s run and goal against Sydney FC. We are so lucky.

But we must put aside all our luck and fortune to focus on this weekend’s fixture. And what time is it kids? It’s mother-flippin’ Heskey Time.

In fairness to the big fella, Heskey presents a new challenge for the Glory defence. Usually, they have to contend with guile, speed, or cleverness on the behalf of an opposition attacker. Danny McBreen aside, there aren’t too many players who have the physical presence to crash into our box and molest the net that stands behind keeper Danny Vukovic. Heskey, it seems, could be one of these players.

There is still a small question mark about the fitness of Shane Smeltz, and now we learn that Jacob Burns has pulled up sore in training too. As such, Glory are somewhat weakened going into this game, and it’s shaping to be a bit of a danger match for them. But I have faith that Ian Ferguson will be able to field a team that can take the win at home – nib remains a fortress for the club, and Newcastle’s defence hasn’t been entirely convincing this year. They’ve conceded in every game they’ve played this season, and despite three wins on the trot I think facing the Glory over in the west will prove a touch too difficult for Gary van Egmond’s side.

If Smeltz is fit, I expect there will be goals. Otherwise, I’m still going to back Glory to shade this, despite the presence of the A-League’s newest superstar.

Prediction: Glory 2 Newcastle 1

Flying high on the back on a hat trick of wins Matthew Gilbert looks at the Newcastle Jets chances (@blindasamelon)

Three from three, that’s all I have been saying this week. Marquee man Emile Heskey shot down a hapless Melbourne Victory in last week’s match at Hunter Stadium with the Jets taking the match 2-1. The former English international scored two second half goals to take a two nil lead. Victory’s go to man Archie Thompson scored the only goal to get past shot stopper Mark Birighitti, who once again made amends for his round one errors with another out standout performance. The win moved the Jets onto equal points on the A-league ladder, a place we all hope they stay.

Round five of the season sees the Jets travelling to the west to take on last year’s grand finalist Perth Glory, a place in which the Jets have struggled to perform at in recent years. The last time the Jets tasted glory at nib Stadium was 2005, the very first year of the A-league. The Glory will lose defender Steve Pantelidis due to a red card against Sydney FC last week. As for the Jets, they have named young gun James Brown in the squad after a pre-season injury kept him out in recent weeks. Despite the Jets losing Josh Brillante, Connor Chapman, Jack Duncan, Mitch Oxborrow and Adam Taggart all to Young Socceroos duty we are still able to name a full strength line up.

For the Jets to win this game they will once again look to Emile Heskey who will attract a lot of attention from Perth Glory defenders Bas van den Brink and Michael Thwaite. It’s going to be interesting to see how Ian Ferguson marks Emile Heskey if he allows Bas van den Brink and Michael Thwaite’s attention to be on Heskey, it will allow our wide players to get into the box and cause the defence troubles, however if Perth don’t mark Heskey he will do exactly what he did against Victory – score.

The Jets are flying high and confidence will be on their sides, however If they continue to let teams control possession they won’t be getting the results of current, but if the Jets push high up and frustrate Glory it will be just a matter of controlling possession and letting our attackers to what they do best. I can once again see the jets getting a win up this week and continuing their great start to the season, and in doing so they will finally breaking their nib Stadium hoodoo.

Prediction: Perth Glory 0 – Newcastle Jets 1

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