TRENT Buhagiar hasn't done the maths on what it will take to qualify for the A-League play-offs but the in-form winger knows the Newcastle Jets have to start winning games.
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The Jets sit in seventh place and are among three teams on 25 points, two behind sixth-placed Sydney FC, with five games remaining.
It has been the tightest and most unpredictable A-League campaign in history.
In the past two seasons, the sixth-placed team has collected 39 points. The limit for the play-offs this season is likely to fall, possibly to 37 or even 36.
The top three - Melbourne City (41 points), Adelaide (37) and Western Sydney (34) - are play-off bound.
That leaves the Mariners (31), Wellington (31), Sydney (27), Newcastle (25), Western United (25), Macarthur (25) and Perth (24) in the hunt for three places.
The Jets are away to leaders City on Sunday, then face the Roar (23) in Brisbane, followed by consecutive home games against Macarthur and the Mariners, before finishing the regular season away to Sydney FC.
Four wins would take them to 37 points.
The Jets went on a six-game unbeaten run (three wins and three draws) from round 12.
"It is tough to do the maths because you never know how other results are going to go," Buhagiar said. "We definitely need to go on a run like we did mid season. If we go unbeaten and pick up three or four wins, that will cement a spot in the finals.
"We have the Mariners and Sydney coming up and they are only a few points ahead of us. If we win those games, hopefully it swings us into the play-offs.
"The Jets have only made the finals once in the past 10 years. Everyone is really hungry to make the top six and do the community proud."
Of the teams above the Jets, the Sky Blues and the Mariners appear the most vulnerable.
Sydney meet Western United (home), Adelaide (away), Perth (h), Brisbane (a) and the Jets (h). If they win three of the first four it would take them to 36 points and possibly set up a showdown with the Jets in the final round.
The Mariners have a tougher run against Brisbane (h), Western United (a), City (h), Jets (a) and Adelaide (h) and are likely to need seven points to be safe.
Of the chasing pack, defending champions Western United have the toughest road, meeting Sydney (a), Mariners (h), Adelaide (a), City (h) and Perth (a).
Macarthur's bid is likely to be decided in the next three games, with "six-pointers" against Perth (a) and the Jets (a) sandwiching a visit by Wanderers. They tackle Melbourne Victory (a) and Wellington (h) in the final two rounds.
Perth (24) have three of the last five at home, where they have lost once. They meet Macarthur (h), Victory (a), Sydney (a), Adelaide (h) and Western United (h).
The Jets threw away two points last round when they conceded from a corner in the 97th minute for a 2-all draw with Perth at home.
A FIFA international break has given them two weeks to stew over the missed opportunity and prepare for the road clash with Melbourne City, who had left back Jordy Bos and midfielder Aiden O'Neill make their debuts for the Socceroos in a 2-1 loss to Ecuador on Tuesday night.
"Coming off a not so good result - we should have taken three points there - we had the weekend off to refocus on ourselves and get ready for this game," Buhagiar said. "[Against Perth] it came down to two set pieces. We dominated most of the game but those two set pieces let us down.
"We have been working on defending set pieces and our defence as a whole."
Buhagiar opened the scoring with a header against Perth to take his season tally to five goals and four assists.
"I have been able to get in behind the defence and either put it in the net or put them across for someone else to score," he said.
The Jets lost their round-six encounter with Melbourne City 2-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium.
"They are a team which likes to attack," Buhagiar said. "That suits us. We are quick on transition.
"In saying that, we want to go there and take the game to them. That is our playing style. We always want to be in control and play attacking football. We won't be sitting back, we will be trying to go for it."
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- NPL rookies New Lambton cop Chris Lattimore send-off on the chin
- Jets midfielder Reno Piscopo set to return from injury with finals on the line
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James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
