What a difference a week can make. Ten days ago Newcastle lost their season opener 3-1 to Sydney FC, a Cortnee Vine-led contest which served as both a reminder of the Sky Blues’ talent and the Jets’ inconsistencies.
Four days later the club signed Emily van Egmond, and two days after that did a 5-1 number on Wellington. “It would have been great to have had her last week,” coach Ash Wilson said after Friday’s rout. “You can’t deny the influence she had just with her calmness on the ball and her ability to find things.”
Van Egmond’s short-term contract with the Jets is one which suits both player and club. The 28-year-old’s return to her hometown side ensures regular game time before she joins the Matildas at the Asian Cup in India in January. For the team, it could yet mean, at the very least, an improved season at most a return to the finals for the first time since 2017-18 – incidentally the last time van Egmond represented the Hunter region.
The lack of Australian internationals left in A-League Women naturally render the performances of those who do remain more striking. But it was clear on Friday just how influential a single player can be.
Van Egmond, returning from stints with West Ham in the Women’s Super League and Orlando Pride in the NWSL, was deployed more creatively by Wilson than she is for the national team. Her presence brought out Newcastle’s breadth of scorers as Kirsty Fenton, Norwegian Marie Dølvik Markussen and Sophie Harding all celebrated maiden league goals and club stalwart Tara Andrews added a brace.
“That’s one of the big reasons we signed her,” Wilson said. “She’s here and she’s wanting to play and she’s a local girl, but she gives so much in terms of her experience and her quality. She worked really hard in attack to try and make forward runs, and defensively she was solid, and I think that had a really big impact on what other players were doing around her too.
“Other players were stepping up, the midfield worked really hard, the wingers were looking to get in behind as much as possible knowing they had people on the ball who could find them. That’s definitely what she was able to bring, and what you could see in terms of our performance.”
Newcastle, perhaps out of necessity given their stretched financial position, have drawn heavily from their youth ranks and emphasised junior development. The fruits of that approach are apparent through Fenton, who has been in the club set-up since under-13s started playing for the Jets at an under-13 level.
The presence of an import for the first time since 2018-19, in Norwegian international Dølvik Markussen, has helped too. The long-term effect of this combination is yet to be seen but the signs are encouraging, and this Friday’s fixture against the ailing Western Sydney could provide a platform of further confidence ahead of tougher tests further down the road.
Wilson has been careful to manage expectations, to keep her players optimistic but also in the present. Past seasons have proved little can be gained from doing otherwise, and it has been some time since the Jets have put together a full season.
The 2020-21 campaign ended in eighth place from the nine-team competition with two wins from 12 rounds. This year’s introduction of the Phoenix and expansion to 14 regular-season rounds means teams have a little more room for early season error. However, with defending champions Melbourne Victory and runners-up Sydney already top with a perfect two from two, the fourth-placed Jets will slide quickly unless results keep coming.
“The performance shows the potential that we have,” Wilson said. “I think we need to be more consistent, we need to have more performances like that before we can start to jump the gun, but if we can put together performances like that.
“If we can be clinical, we’ll definitely be very competitive, and if we do make those finals we’ll hopefully be a handful. But it’s very early, there are a lot of good teams, and we need to make sure we’re putting those performances together week in, week out – that’s been a challenge for us in the past.”
