Scott Miller’s Newcastle Jets have dealt a body blow to 10-man Melbourne City’s hopes of reaching top spot, winning 2-1 at Hunter Stadium thanks to a Milos Trifunovic brace.
Bruno Fornaroli continued his fine goalscoring form, but was unable to combine with Harry Novillo and Aaron Mooy with the usual efficiency, blunted heavily after Jacob Melling’s sending off.
Miller’s Jets look revitalised, Van’t Schip’s City less-so
After what was an encouraging performance in last week’s narrow loss in Adelaide, the Novocastrians managed to right some of the wrongs committed when City last strode into town and romped to a 4-0 win.
On paper, Trifunovic’s impact was the difference between the two sides, but the ninth placed Jets showed first placed desire, and City floundered in the face of a well regimented opponent.
The pattern of the contest differed greatly from that of the 3-2 win at AAMI Park in round 5, but for the second time this season, the Jets’ hunger outmatched that of John Van’t Schip’s men. This is of most concern to City, because Newcastle remain a team that, unless a minor miracle lies in wait, will not play finals football.
It is unclear whether the losses of Paartalu and Stefan Mauk will hurt team chemistry, but a third successive loss is increasingly likely
Newcastle rewarded for unrelenting desire in attack.
The Jets will count themselves unfortunate after a highly promising opening stanza – this game could have been settled inside the opening 30 minutes.
Thomas Sorensen’s goal was peppered by the likes of Leonardo and Trifunovic, and perhaps should have been breached before their opponents took control of the contest up until half time.
The break served to benefit the Jets, who continued to stick to the task defensively in denying Aaron Mooy time and space to probe, as well as crowding out Novillo and Fornaroli, who were made to look isolated as a result. The final result was just, and while City’s quality in attack threatened the prospect of an equaliser in the dying stages, the Jets remained steadfast to move up to eighth in the A-League standings.
Slow and sloppy sunk the ship
At Wanderland last round, City’s sloppiness consigned the title-hopefuls to a 3-0 deficit. Only a razor sharp attack allowed talk of a comeback to surface, but as the contest eventuated, the visitors were made to pay for a self-destructive opening.
Much the same could be said of this performance, and with all due respect to the Jets, there are far sterner tests to come for City if talk of a title charge is to be taken seriously.
Erik Paartalu’s departure only adds to City’s defensive concerns, as a far larger than usual portion of time and space was afforded to the Jets attack. Alex Wilkinson’s arrival will address some of these concerns, but for a system that has struggled in transition, losing its most defensively-minded midfielder could require another tactical overhaul.
Osama Malik could fill the void left by Paartalu in midfield, having shown himself to be a reliable distributor, with greater positional discipline when utilised in the centre of the park. The issue will need to be addressed in the week leading up to next week’s Melbourne Derby, while Van’t Schip will also need to find a new midfield balance without the suspended Melling.
Outside90 Player of the Season
Milos Trifunovic 3
Daniel Mullen – 2
Michael Zullo – 1
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