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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Renee Valentine

Jets out to finish strongly at home

HISTORY-MAKER: Canberra striker Michelle Heyman is the W-League's all-time leading scorer with 72 goals and will be one to watch at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

Newcastle coach Ash Wilson wants the Jets to make life difficult for Canberra when they host the in-form finals hopefuls at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.

The penultimate-round match will be Newcastle's last at home this W-League campaign and, while they can no longer make finals, the Jets can have a bearing on the top-four make-up.

Canberra improved to 18 points and fourth place with a 3-2 win over last-placed Perth on Friday night. They went one point ahead of Melbourne Victory, who are also fighting for a finals berth and play winless Glory on Tuesday in Perth.

It means Canberra must win in Newcastle to consolidate their top-four position before facing league leaders Sydney (24) in the final round.

Newcastle close their season in Brisbane against the second-placed Lions (22) and Wilson said their remaining games were an opportunity to give a strong account of themselves.

"We still have a lot of belief in ourselves," Wilson said. "We're still playing to finish in the best possible position we can and we want to make it difficult for these teams that are trying to make top four to actually earn their spot.

"We're back at training this week and there's no time to dwell. We have another game to prepare for and we want to win that game and we want to play a positive brand of football and finish our last home game strong for ourselves, for the fans and really just put ourselves into a good frame of mind and a good position going into Brisbane."

The Jets are seventh with seven points and coming off a 1-0 loss to Melbourne City, who are also on seven but eighth on goal difference, on Sunday.

The win in Melbourne ended a five-match losing streak for City and came after the Jets had convincingly beaten Perth 4-0 in Perth six days earlier.

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"At the moment we can finish on 13, so that's the goal," Wilson said.

"If we finish the season on 13 after a slow start then you start to look at next season and it's not a bad platform to build on.

"We've talked a little bit about our draw in the past and maybe with the changes it hasn't been the easiest of runs. But, at the same time, we can't say that if we don't come out and finish these last two games off strong against teams that are contending for top-four spots.

"We need to make sure that we do that. And then you've got more right to maybe claim that perhaps a change of circumstances, maybe had the draw been different. But, like we keep saying, it is what it is this season and you just have to get on with it and we need to make sure that we finish strong."

The Jets defence have a task ahead of them to keep quiet Canberra striker Michelle Heyman this weekend.

The 32-year-old has 62 caps for Australia and returned to the W-League this campaign after a season off.

She has been in sensational form, scoring nine goals in 10 appearances. Heyman surpassed Sam Kerr's W-League goalscoring record of 70 with two against Glory at Viking Park on Friday night. The match brace included the 95th minute winner and took her tally to 72.

Newcastle's Tara Andrews is equal-fourth in the league with five goals this campaign and will also be looking to improve her tally with two games remaining.

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