A-League men, 2023: Jets keeper Ryan Scott gunning for success against old club

Would he love to beat them? Most definitely.

The Jets take on Western United at Ballarat on Saturday.

It will be the first time Scott has faced Western United in an A-League game since ending his four-year stint at the Melbourne club.

"It is always a big game, playing against your old team," Scott said. "I won't look too much into it. I left on good terms. It was my time to move on. I am happy where I am now. Everything happens for a reason. I just go down there and try to get a win."

Scott and fellow shot-stopper Jamie Young were among 14 departures from Western United.

Former Sydney No.2 keeper Tom Heward-Belle has started in goals in the opening three games and other new faces include one-time Socceroo Nikita Rukavytsya and former Jets favourites Angus Thurgate and Brazilian Daniel Penha.

"They have turned over quite a few players," Scott said. "Teams always change. People come and go. That's football. They have plenty of threats. We do as well. We have to nullify their threats and hurt them going the other way."

After opening the season with a 2-1 upset of Melbourne City, Western have dropped two games on the bounce to Western Sydney (5-0) and Macarthur (1-0).

The Jets have two draws and a loss from three games.

"They will be hungry to get a win on the board as will we," Scott said. "Every game, if you don't turn up or aren't at your best, you could get punished.

"The game will be there for both teams to win."

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The Jets gave up a 2-0 lead to draw 2-all with Western Sydney at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.

Although disappointed to "not hold on" for the win, Scott was adamant the Jets were "going in the right direction".

"I guess, 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline," Scott said. "They grew into the second half and we maybe sat back a little bit, maybe a little bit too much in hindsight. It is a pretty common thing in that situation. It would have been nice to get a third and kill them off.

"The performances are getting better. We are definitely going in the right direction.

"In the first couple of weeks, we weren't at our best defensively. "It is something we put a lot of attention on at training. On Sunday, we didn't allow the opposition to have as many chances as the week before. I don't think I made a save to be honest. It was good to put in a much better defensive performance, but we still have to get better."