Western Sydney Wanderers aiming to return to winning ways against Newcastle Jets on Christmas Eve

THEIR winning run is over, but Western Sydney aim to stretch their gap at the top of the table when they host Newcastle on Christmas Eve.

THEIR winning run is over, but Western Sydney aim to stretch their gap at the top of the table when they host Newcastle on Christmas Eve.

The competition’s first December 24 fixture pits the league leaders against Newcastle at Pirtek Stadium, just five days after Tony Popovic’s side ground out a 2-2 draw away to Perth.

Though the game featured a brilliant corner routine to secure a goal for Brendon Santalab, and another elegant strike from Mitch Nichols, goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne was twice beaten questionably as a resurgent Perth side made it seven points from three games.

Santalab’s goal followed a training-ground routine of three one-touch passes from the corner flag, scripted by Spanish assistant coach Andres Carrasco, and the striker confirmed it had gone exactly according to plan. “We trained for that this week, and it’s hard enough to make it work in practice, so to score it in the game was outstanding,” Santalab said.

“You can clearly see it’s a set play, and it was a special moment to get on the end of it exactly as we had planned. In fact it was nice for me to start again, it’s a lot different to coming off the bench. In that situation I usually just have 20 minutes or so to make an impact, and I enjoyed getting the start even though my match fitness isn’t there yet.

“My overall performance probably wasn’t the best, but it was important as a team that we came back twice, against a side running high on confidence. It shows the character of the team, losing twice on one of the toughest trips in the competition but still getting a point.

“No disrespect to Perth but they did surprise me with their performances against us and Victory. I’m not sure where that belief and energy has suddenly come from but Kenny Lowe has done a fantastic job. In the end we could have jagged a win but full credit to Perth, and a point was a good result in the end.”

The draw ended Western Sydney’s surging run of seven straight wins, but kept the side unbeaten since the loss of the derby in round 3 — and top of the table, with the opportunity to extend their lead on Thursday night. But Sanatalab conceded there might have to be changes to the starting XI, even though there are seasonal reasons why he wants to play at Pirtek Stadium.

“To be fair we’ve got a short turnaround and a long trip back from Perth, so we’ll have to see how everyone pulls up,” he said. “But there are players ready to come in — Dimas, Mark Bridge, for instance — and they’ll be fresh for what is an important game — and a big occasion.

“It’ll be good for the fans to come out on Christmas Eve — I’ve never played on December 24 before, so hopefully Santa delivers.”

Originally published as Western Sydney Wanderers aiming to return to winning ways against Newcastle Jets on Christmas Eve