The Newcastle Jets have had their first victory since Round 4 with a stunning 3-1 win against a spirited, but undermanned Wellington Phoenix.
Newcastle had not scored for 559 minutes but their fortunes changed early on with a Milos Trifunovic penalty.
The home side doubled their lead midway through the half as Ryan Kitto tapped into an empty net after an a strike was parried away from Carney straight into the young attacker’s path.
David Carney capped a fine display for the home side with the third on the break early in the second half.
Matthew Ridenton got on the scoresheet late on for Wellington with a neat finish, but he and his teammates couldn’t add to his effort.
We rate each individual player from the match below:
Newcastle Jets
Mark Birighitti – 8: Largely untroubled in the first half but looked assured for the home side when called upon in the second half as the Nix pushed hard.
Lachlan Jackson- 8: Looked very solid at left-back for the Jets. Roly Bonevacia did his best to test him on numerous occasions but Jackson had his number. Was noticeable that Bonevacia went more central in the second half.
Nigel Boogaard – 7: Solid and unspectacular again. Despite the run of poor results he has always been solid for the Novocastrians.
Daniel Mullen – 7: Just as his captain and defensive partner, Newcastle looks far more solid with this pair at the heart of defence.
Jason Hoffman – 8: Bombed on again like always and did not allow the Nix an inch down his side. One of his better displays for the Jets.
Matteo Poljak – 6: Neat and tidy but probably needs to do more going forward.
Ben Kantarovski – 6: Was good until he earned his marching orders early in the second half, inviting the Nix back into the contest.
David Carney – 9: Again at the heart of most attacking forays for the Jets. Gave the Phoenix left-side all sorts of problems and was dangerous all afternoon. He deservedly scored the third to ice the game for the Jets.
Ryan Kitto – 8: By far his best display for the Jets. Threatened throughout and took his chance when it came along. Pushed David Carney for man of the match honours.
Enver Alivodic – 7: A return to his usual self. He was unlucky not to score and was another who gave an inexperienced Nix backline lots of problems.
Milos Trifunovic – 6: Finally got the monkey off the back and scored again. Hopefully it heralds a return to form permanently for the Jets marksman.
Substitutions:
Nick Cowburn – 7: Impressive effort again from the young man. Showing that he deserves the new contract he recently received.
Mitch Cooper – N/A: Came on too late to make an impact.
Wellington Phoenix
Glen Moss – 6: Had little chance with the goals conceded. Was let down by his defence on countless occasions
Troy Danaskos – 5: Struggled this week and was given the run around by Alivodic. He will be better for the experience.
Andrew Durante – 5: Tried to lead his side as he always does but the test was too much for him at times.
Dylan Fox – 5: Pressured throughout and even looked outclassed at times. Improved in the second half but will need to do much better to pile the pressure on the Nix injured brigade when they return.
Daniel Gulley – 4: Was hooked at half-time and deservedly so. Very poor performance.
Alex Rodriguez – 6: Not great but didn’t get many opportunities either. He was part of a midfield that was outplayed for most parts.
Roly Bonevacia – 8: Was one of the few shining lights for the Nix, especially in the second half as he tried to turn around the match.
Vince Lia – 5: Went unnoticed for large parts of the match as the Nix midfield were overrun on numerous occasions.
Albert Riera – 5: Was another player who was below his best today.
Michael McGlinchey -6: Kept trying all afternoon but was starved of the ball for most of the match. He will rebound sharply as he is a quality player.
Nick Powell – 7: Had a few chances in the first half and on another day he may have hit the net. Was one of the positives for the Nix.
Substitutions:
Kwabena Appiah-Kubi – 7: Really tested the Jets defence after they went down to 10 men but he could not quite fire his side back into the contest.
Tom Doyle – 5: Came on in the second half but didn’t really test the Jets defence unlike some of his teammates late on.
Matthew Ridenton – 7: Scored for Wellington with a well taken goal. Was positive and always at his opponents.
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