Melbourne City were the last team that the Jets defeated in the Hyundai A-League and returning goalkeeper Jack Duncan is sure that the cashed-up Club can be the next team that Newcastle conquer.
Duncan is set to make his return to Hyundai A-League action following a hip-flexor complaint on Saturday evening when Mark Jones’ side challenge Michael Valkanis’ charges at AAMI Park.
Newcastle followed its game plan against City near-on perfectly in Coffs Harbour in round 17, and the former Randers shot stopper believes if he and his teammates can do the same in the Victorian capital at the weekend they’ll be every chance of stunning City once more.
“We can take confidence out of the fact that we went up there (to Coffs Harbour) and were defensively very solid,” Duncan said. “We also scored two good goals.”
“We just need to stick to our game plan. We did that the last game when we beat them, and if we go down there and have the same mentality and be positive then we can get the win.”
“It will be a different atmosphere, a different crowd, but at the end of the day it’s 11 players against 11 players,” he said.
HOW DOES JACK DUNCAN COMPARE WITH MELBOURNE CITY GOALKEEPER THOMAS SØRENSEN THIS SEASON?
Duncan – who has made 58 saves in the Hyundai A-League this campaign – has missed the Club’s past two matches through injury.
Today he told local media that while he will always back his teammates – namely goalkeeper Tomislav Arčaba – in his absence, having to watch from the stands unable to help impact results has left him feeling frustrated.
“It has been frustrating on the sidelines,” Duncan explained. “I am not very good at watching.”
“(But) it was a good thing to get the split round to give me an extra week to recover.”
“We have one position to play for and whoever plays we back each other to do the job and support each other as best as we can.”
“Tommy has trained with us for the last few months and I thought against Brisbane (Roar) he was outstanding,” he said.
Mark Jones named a preliminary 18-player squad for the match against City earlier today.
Kick-off on Saturday night is at 7:50pm, and the match will be beamed LIVE around the nation on FOX SPORTS 505.
