Libby Copus-Brown believes the Newcastle Jets can finish 2023 on a high by backing up their first home win of the A-League Women's campaign with another at No.2 Sportsground on New Year's Eve.
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The home-grown midfielder returned earlier than expected from a compression fracture in her left kneecap to play the last 20 minutes of Newcastle's 4-2 victory against Western United in round eight.
The injury sustained against Canberra in round six threatened to sideline the 26-year-old for up to one month but Copus-Brown, who returned to the Jets after a stint with Western Sydney and English second-tier outfit Lewes, was back in the starting team when the Jets succumbed to Wellington 2-0 across the ditch last Saturday.
While the result was not the desired one, Copus-Brown was glad to get through 80 minutes unscathed to be eyeing an important round-10 clash with Adelaide at home on Sunday.
The Jets are ninth on 10 points but only one point adrift of the top six while the Reds have eight points after back-to-back wins.
"If we do win, we're not that far away from the top four, which is a good thing," Copus-Brown said.
"We really put a lot of pressure on ourselves to beat Wellington because that would have put us in a really good position on the ladder, but obviously that didn't happen so moving on to next week.
"We can definitely beat Adelaide. They're a strong team but I definitely think that we have the players to beat them."
Leading striker Melina Ayres also returned off the bench against Western United, when Matildas midfielder Emily van Egmond finished a four-game guest stint, but missed the Wellington trip and is believed to be still nursing a hip issue which kept her sidelined between rounds two and seven.
The Jets have parted ways with experienced New Zealand midfielder Rebecca Burrows, who is believed to have joined an overseas club.
Coach Gary van Egmond made a whirlwind trip to China recently to explore a coaching position with their national youth women's program and is believed to be the preferred candidate.
If a deal is struck, van Egmond is likely to be required in China in early January but there have been no updates on his future with the Jets since his return.
"We can't worry about it too much," Copus-Brown said.
"We've just got to focus on him being here now and if he goes he's left us with the right information and the way that the club wants to go, so I feel like whoever comes in is going to do the same job so trying not to worry about it too much."
Copus-Brown debuted for the Jets as a 16-year-old in 2013 and is enjoying being back at home after three years away.
"I've actually really enjoyed it, it's definitely harder than what I thought it would be," Copus-Brown said of returning to her roots.
"I feel like the league is just getting stronger and stronger, but I've really enjoyed it so far.
"Whenever you go to a different environment, you're always learning new things ... Mentally as well it's helped, going to a different club in a different country.
"You don't know what to expect, so just being able to adapt to different styles of play and the way that the coach wants to play has definitely helped a lot ... I definitely feel like I've learnt over the past three years."
Meanwhile, league leaders Melbourne City take on eighth-placed Brisbane Roar on Thursday before Wellington cross the Tasman for their Friday night clash against Sydney FC.
On Saturday, Canberra United host Western United while Western Sydney Wanderers welcome Melbourne Victory.
Central Coast host Perth Glory on Sunday.
