Newcastle Jets marquee striker Emile Heskey says he is expecting a fierce and fiery F3 Derby at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets marquee striker Emile Heskey says he is expecting a fierce and fiery F3 Derby when the Jets face the Central Coast Mariners at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
Heskey scored as the Jets won the first F3 Derby of the season 2-1 Hunter Stadium in October.
“Derbies are derbies. They-re going to be fierce and they-re going to be fiery,” Heskey said.
“I-ve played in one already and it-s no different (to other derbies), everyone wants to win the game.
“We-re a few more games into the season now and everyone is aware of how people play and what to do to combat that, so it-s going to be a different game to the first Derby.”
Heskey said it was up to the entire squad to lift in the absence of captain Jobe Wheelhouse, who will miss the match due to a knee injury sustained at training during the week.
“We-ve got a load of leaders out there. We-ve got a lot of young players, but they can be leaders as well.
“Hopefully the older players lead by example and help them through the game.
“We-ve got some really good young players and we have to use them more so now. Everyone-s got to be a captain out there, not just the one that wears the armband.”
After finding the back of the net five teams in his first six A-League appearances, Heskey hasn-t scored in the last three matches.
Despite this, his ability to bring others into play means he is likely to be closely marked by the Mariners on Saturday night.
“You want to keep going, keep winning games and hopefully keep scoring goals,” Heskey said.
“I haven-t set myself any targets, but you want to be scoring as many as you can.
“(The Mariners) can put extra attention on me, but there are 10 other players.
“We have good players here, so if they do put more attention on me, that will create space for someone else.”
Heskey said the Jets had been working on improving their service into the former England international.
“We-re working on a lot of things, not just early balls to me,” Heskey said.
“It-s something that we-re working on, not just getting chances, but taking our chances and cutting out mistakes as well to try and keep a clean sheet.
“We haven-t kept a clean sheet yet either so that would be nice.”
It is a double-header at Hunter Stadium this Saturday night. The Jets Youth team play the Central Coast Mariners Youth team prior to the A-League F3 Derby clash at 7.45pm.
Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday, December 8
Gates open: 4.50pm
National Youth League kick-off: 5pm
A-League kick-off: 7.45pm
Venue: Hunter Stadium
Tickets from PROticket
Limited parking will be available for purchase at the car park entrances on game days for the remainder of the Jets 2012/13 season. Whilst there will be parking available for purchase, Hunter Venues does encourage patrons to pre-purchase their parking tickets at a PROticket outlet or online at www.proticket.com.au as parking is subject to availability.
