CAPTAIN Brandon O'Neill knows that the Newcastle Jets are close.
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And once they get that first win - climb that mountain - the two-time championship winner is confident more will follow.
A youthful Jets outfit have opened the A-League season with two draws and a loss.
They were in a position last Sunday to notch their opening win, leading 2-0 at half-time against Western Sydney at home, but gave up two goals to share the points.
"We are so close," O'Neill said. "I could feel it in the game. All the chat was positive in the half-time break. The lads knew exactly what to do in the second half. I thought we did it for large parts. Sometimes you have to experience copping a couple [of goals] to learn how to not cop a couple in the next game. The only way we can learn and grow sometimes is to make mistakes.
"Clayton had a great chance in injury time to seal it. If we weren't doing that, I'd be more worried. The lads are going about it in the right way."
Next for the Jets is a road trip to Ballarat to take on Western United on Saturday.
"[After this weekend], we will have played three away and one at home," O'Neill said. "The next four games we have the reverse.
"We go to Ballarat with extreme confidence, knowing we have travelled twice. We had a great result in Perth, we go and score three goals away to Melbourne Victory, which I don't think many teams will do this season.
"I don't think travelling will be an issue this year because of the exuberance and youth we have in there.
"It will be how do we close out a game? How do we find the experience to do it in the league? Once we get the first win, the challenge is to do it again and again."
Standing in the way of the Jets will be former teammate Angus Thurgate and former Newcastle favourite, Brazilian Daniel Penha.
"It will be interesting to see how Gus gets on this weekend," O'Neill said. "He is a great fella. We might have a marathon running match in the middle of the park. He has the ability to defend his own box and then pop up and score a goal down the other end. If we look after him and look after Penha and keep doing the business down the attacking end, I back us to get a result.
"The good thing about us this year is that we are just direct. We know no other way than to get the ball as quick as we can from one end to the other. When we get it to the other end, we are doing something with it."
Meanwhile, Ufuk Talay has agreed to a two-year deal to coach Sydney FC.