Adelaide United broke their losing run with a scoreless draw at Coopers Stadium, but the Reds would have been frustrated not to secure three points.
A rather lethargic opening 45 minutes saw both sides go in level at nil all. The two best chances of the game fell to Goodwin, the first was well dealt with by a recovering Boogaard and the second failed to trouble Birighitti in the Newcastle goal.
The second half Adelaide came out and attacked the Jets but failed to beat a resilient Birighitti. Newcastle did manage to find the back of the net late on but it was rightly ruled out for offside.
Adelaide United
Eugene Galekovic – 6: Not a whole lot to do but looked very composed with the ball at his feet, a welcome site to have him back for the Reds fans.
Tarek Elrich – 6: His passing game was a little bit off at times but was defensively superb.
Osama Malik – N/A: Was forced off with a hamstring injury after only 5 minutes.
Dylan McGowan – 6: Didn’t have a whole lot to do as the Jets lacked conviction, but he was very solid for the 90 minutes.
Michael Marrone – 6: Defensively was very sound, failed to get forward and support the attacks at times.
Isaias – 7: A solid performance from the holding midfielder and was smart enough to press at the right times to win the ball back. Broke up the Newcastle attacks well.
Jimmy Jeggo – 7.5: His work rate was very high especially in the second half. He forced Birighitti into a number of saves as he peppered the goal with some long range shots.
George Mells – 5: Did not offer enough creative spark and his decision-making at times was poor.
Craig Goodwin – 6.5: Got into the right positions and made some incisive runs, but lacked the final pass or shot.
Sergio Cirio – 6: There was flashes of what he is capable of but failed to have a real influence. Still caused the Jets back four some issues at times.
Bruce Djite – 5: Was kept quiet by the Newcastle defense. Usually strong on the ball and holds the ball up well, but even struggled to do this at times. Failed to trouble Birighitti all game.
Substitutions
Jordan Elsey – 7: After a very long injury lay off he returned to action at centre back with the early injury to Malik. He was very solid at the back and his positioning was excellent.
Bruce Kamau – 5: Failed to get into the game after coming off the bench.
Marcelo Carrusca – 6: Came on and offered a lot of energy but was not on for enough time to have an influence.
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