On the eve of Melbourne Heart FC’s 100th match in the Hyundai A-League, John van’t Schip’s side has received a major boost with marquee Orlando Engelaar set to ‘play a part’ in tomorrow night’s match.
On the eve of Melbourne Heart FC-s 100th match in the Hyundai A-League, John van-t Schip-s side has received a major boost with marquee Orlando Engelaar set to ‘play a part- in tomorrow night-s match.
Head Coach van’t Schip confirmed this morning that the 14-time Dutch international is likely to feature at some point during tomorrow night-s Harvey Norman Friday Night Football clash against the Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park.
“Orlando will certainly be a part of the squad,” van’t Schip said.
“We are still deciding what kind of role he will have but we are thinking about bringing him in for a part of the game or starting him like we did with the youth team but that-s something that we will decide tomorrow.”
Engelaar played out a successful 30-minute cameo with the Foxtel National Youth League team on Sunday and will be making his long awaiting return to the senior team after sustaining a fractured tibia in a pre-season friendly match against Brisbane Roar.
Engelaar’s debut is a positive inclusion for van’t Schip’s side and the coach has thrown his confidence behind the midfielder to perform in any either a defensive or attacking midfield role.
Click play on the video below to watch the full pre-match press conference with Head Coach John van’t Schip.
“On the ball he’s very comfortable, confident player, has a good vision of the game and of course his experience is very important,” van-t Schip said.
“He can play in a defensive role and he can even play in an attacking kind of role.”
The milestone match also marks van’t Schip’s return as coach to AAMI Park with the Dutchman looking for his side to capitalise on the occasion.
“Every game is an opportunity, home or away,” van-t Schip said.
“We are approaching it every time in that way and this will be a game again that-s possible we can get our first win so we’ll go for that.
“The most important thing is we are still working on something a little bit different… and we are still improving on that.
“That said, we are looking of course with that improvement to get better results.”
To mark the Club-s 100th match in the competition, Melbourne Heart will don a fan-designed alternative Third Kit, manufactured by the Club-s kit sponsor Kappa and sponsored by MatchWorks.
The winning entry from 2012 incorporated an unprecedented digital initiative – which was a first for the A-League and other sporting codes in Australia – where the Club displayed player-s Twitter handles on the back of last season-s Third Kit for an ‘interactive match-, played against Perth Glory.
For tomorrow night-s match, the kit features the names of over 5,000 Melbourne Heart FC members (who signed up before Friday 20 September 2013).
The competition, which has been run for the past three seasons, gives Melbourne Heart members the unique opportunity to show their true colours, and gives them the chance to leave their mark on the first team.
The match ball for tomorrow night-s game will be delivered by one of the Club-s foundation member via a Westpac Rescue Helicopter to AAMI Park.
Westpac Victoria has so far raised $75,000 for the Victorian ‘choppers and is aiming to reach $100,000 at tomorrow night-s match, with the goal of “100 for 100”.
Melbourne Heart is proud to have Westpac as its principal sponsor, a partnership that stems from the club’s creation in 2009 and which will span 100 games together with the momentous match on January 17 against the Newcastle Jets.
Match Details
Hyundai A-League Round 15
Melbourne Heart FC vs. Newcastle Jets
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7.30pm
