01-20-2007, 11:31 AM
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ets on a roll
Saturday, 20 January, 2007 - 10:03AM
Dominic Brock, Sportal
Joel Griffiths
Joel Griffiths
After grabbing a playoff spot in style with a 4-0 drubbing of the Melbourne Victory, Newcastle coach Gary Van Egmond believes anything is possible from his in-form side.
Needing a win to guarantee progress into the finals, and up against the all-conquering minor premiers, the Jets put on a show for their home crowd and will take plenty of momentum into the finals series.
"It was definitely our best performance at home this year," Van Egmond said.
"I'm very lucky. I've got some very natural leaders in the group, which makes it a lot easier for myself and the coaching staff to get the rest of the players motivated. Everyone was one this evening and it was a fantastic performance.
The Jets sat winless at the bottom of the ladder after seven games when Van Egmond took the head coaching job in October, but he said the squad always felt a finals berth was possible.
"As a group we did. We felt the talent was definitely there within the club," he said.
"It was just a matter of making sure we worked very, very hard at the training pitch, making sure we've got ourselves well organised. And to enjoy your football, get a smile on your face. That's very important as a player.
"The belief has always been that we can go all the way."
Two-goal hero Mark Bridge has had a stellar second half of the season, but the young striker paid tribute to Van Egmond for helping resurrect Newcastle campaign.
"I'm happy with how the season's gone for me but I'm happier that the team's made the finals after the start we had to the season," Bridge said.
"Training's been a lot happier. If you're enjoying your football you play well."
Victory coach Ernie Merrick rested defenders Steve Pantelidis and Simon Storey, both of whom were a yellow card away from suspension, and was not panicking about his side's finals prospects despite Melbourne's mediocre recent form.
"They came at us all guns blazing, and they had to," Merrick said.
"We gifted a couple of goals, three in fact, and they took advantage of that.
"We just really couldn't get it together. But the finals are next week, and we've got a full squad to pick from."
Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat was confident the minor premiers would reclaim their winning touch in time for next Sunday's major semi-final first leg.
"Obviously it's a massive disappointment for us," Muscat said.
"But we've got nine days to get it right. Plenty of time."
Van Egmond agreed.
"I still don't think we've seen the best of Melbourne Victory," Van Egmond said.
"Ernie's very cagey. I think he's worked them very hard over the past two weeks and will taper that down now for the playoffs."
| Credit - A-League.com.au |
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