The Newcastle Jets produced a stirring upset of Melbourne City, defeating the A-League high-flyers 2-1 at Hunter Stadium earlier this evening.
Few gave the Novocastrians much hope of victory, but that did not stop the home side from getting the all-important three points.
Milos Trifunovic scored a brace, with one coming from the penalty spot after Jack Clisby was adjudged to have handled in the box. His second came from a brilliant move featuring Enver Alivodic and new signing Morten Nordstrand.
Bruno Fornaroli was the usual suspect in the scoresheet for City, but he could not quite do enough to turn the tide in his team’s favour.
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Newcastle Jets
Mark Birighitti – 7: Had a quieter day than usual behind the Jets backline, but was safe and secure with what he had to do.
Jason Hoffman – 7: Energetic and efficient as always, making it difficult for the City side to penetrate down his side. He has been one of the better players for the Jets this season.
Daniel Mullen – 8: Along with Nigel Boogaard, put in the sort of performance that was needed to keep City’s dangerous front three quiet for the most part.
Nigel Boogaard – 8: Another stirring effort from the skipper. Had to produce as he owed his teammates for the sending-off against the Glory, which forced him to miss the Adelaide trip
Nicholas Cowburn – 8 : Has really turned around the opinion of his manager and is now looking a mainstay in this side. Never looks flustered and performs week in, week out.
Mateo Poljak – 8: A solid effort again from Poljak in a slightly deeper role than usual. Screened Mullen and Boogaard well and even looked safe in distributing the ball.
Steven Ugarkovic – 9: Adds something that has been missing to the Jets’ engine room with his passing. Always looks to play forward to spring counter-attacks on all occasions.
Leonardo – 8: Is really starting to hit his stride as he starts to overcome his knee problem. Looked lively and the man most likely to open up the City rearguard. Was visibly upset when replaced by Miller on 60 minutes.
Enver Alivodic – 6: Busy and energetic like always, but has regressed from his more promising displays earlier in the season.
Ryan Kitto – N/A: Ruled out just before kick-off with a back complaint.
Milos Trifunovic – 8: Steady and did well to hold the ball up and today was his day in front of goal with the brace.
Substitutes
Mitch Cooper – 6: Did his best after being rushed into the lineup prior to kick-off, but he did miss a great opportunity midway through the first-half.
Morten Nordstrand – 8: Looks a promising signing for the Jets and again was good off the bench. Laid on the second goal for Trifunovic in a sparkling cameo.
Radovan Pavicevic – N/A: Came on too late to influence proceedings.
Melbourne City
Thomas Sorenson – 6: Like his opposite number Birighitti, he was kept pretty quiet throughout but did all that was expected of him. Had little chance with both Jets goals and can rightly expect more from his defence.
Patrick Kisnorbo – 7: A solid return from his injury issues the week before. Led his side well from the back and kept the hosts down to only a few opportunities to score.
Osama Malik – 7: Could be the missing piece at the back for City as his distribution out from the back was superb on most occasions. Settling in well to his new surroundings.
Jack Clisby – 4: Was unlucky when the ball struck his arm for the penalty, but it was the deciding factor that swung the game in the Jets’ favour.
Ivan Franjic – 5: Solid again but we should expect more from a Socceroos player. He will need to lift if City is to push on towards the title. Also went into the book midway through the second-half.
Michael Zullo – 5: A bit like Franjic in that he was not too involved in much of the contest today. Only found it harder after the red card.
Paulo Retre – 4: Substituted around the 60th minute and was not at his best today. Will rue the missed opportunity with many City stars due back in the not too distant future.
Jacob Melling – 4: Was sent-off for the foul on Nordstrand and could probably consider himself unlucky as the ball still looked to be in dispute. Another City player who was slightly off his game today.
Aaron Mooy – 5: A rare off-day for Mooy as he and his side struggled for large parts of the match. Even the best have an off day occasionally so he is forgiven for this one.
Bruno Fornaroli – 7: Again lively for the visitors, but did not get the service he has been accustomed to. Still scored his obligatory goal and was one of the better performers for City.
Harry Novillo – 4: Another who was off-colour today for much of the match and at times even looked disinterested.
Substitutes
Jason Trifiro – 5: Made a late appearance but couldn’t get into the match. Needed more time from van’t Schip.
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