A 10-man Newcastle Jets shrugged off their recent poor goal scoring form to defeat New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix 3-1 at Hunter Stadium.
Scott Miller set up Newcastle with almost the same side that had lost away to Sydney in Round 14, with young defender Lachlan Jackson celebrating a new two-year contract with a start, as they searched for their first goal in six games. The Phoenix welcomed back Roly Bonevacia and Alex Rodriguez from suspension, while Matthew Ridenton dropped to the bench and Jeffrey Sarpong was out due to a calf strain. Within six minutes of kickoff, Milos Trifunovic broke the drought against the luckless and injury hit Nix, ending a long run of 565 minutes without a goal.
Wellington went further behind on 26 minutes, with midseason Newcastle recruit Ryan Kitto following up from David Carney’s parried shot. At 2-0, the drought was suddenly a thing of the past, as the Nix struggled to cope with the resurgent Jets.
Ernie Merrick made a much-needed tactical change at halftime, bringing on Tom Doyle for Justin Gulley at right-full-back. The Phoenix were able to seize control for the first time in the match, looking sharper in possession and mounting some attacks of their own, while Kantarovski received a second yellow and his marching orders in the 57th minute. However, Scott Miller had a tactical masterstroke of his own, as goalscorer Trifunovic was withdrawn in favour of Nick Cowburn, and the substitue immediately paid dividends. Cowburn intercepted the ball and played it to Alivodic, who sent the rejuvinated Carney free to slot home against the second-half run of play, sending the Newcastle fans into delirium.
In the 81st minute, the Phoenix were offered a glimmer of hope of a highly improbable comeback, as Matthew Ridenton slotted home after Blake Powell took advantage of a quick free kick to provide the assist. Ultimately though, Newcastle did enough to hang-on with 10 men, to take a much needed victory at home, brightening the gloom at Hunter stadium. The Phoenix, on the other hand, suffered their fourth straight away loss.
Jets drought broken
The Newcastle Jets scored early in this encounter, then added a few more for good measure, to ensure that they relieved some of the pressure that had been building in recent scoreless weeks. Relief came with the goals and at the final whistle there was the ecstasy of three points for Newcastle players, fans, and a delighted coach in Scott Miller. After the well documented struggle to find the back of the net in recent weeks, the Jets could have had five or six on a balmy day at Hunter stadium. The excellent Enver Alivodic was denied twice, first his close-range goal was chalked off as referee Gillett awarded the penalty and on 42 minutes, his header was denied on the line by Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante.
Miller outwits Merrick again
Just like he did in Round One, Miller masterminded a victory over his much older and experienced counterpart, as the Jets snapped their goalless streak to leave the Phoenix struggling with no wins in six games. In the process, the Jets did the double over the New Zealanders this season, and went level with the Nix on 16 points on the A League table. The visitors struggled without Ben Sigmund or Manny Muscat, as their youthful and inexperienced backline, made up of three players with 12 previous A League matches experience in Justin Gulley, Troy Danaskos and Dylan Fox (with the exception of the vastly experienced Durante), shipped three goals away again this season. Meanwhile, Newcastle’s two banks of four triumphed, stifling almost all of the attacks the opposition team could throw at them by putting bodies behind the ball early and defending resolutely. The Jets won the tactical battle, as their well structured defence absorbed the Phoenix pressure, and they used the wings well to attack with greater verve than the team in yellow, with their solitary second-half goal coming from a wicked counter attack following good defensive breakdown work.
Phoenix poor away form continues in 2016
With just four points taken from away matches away this season, the Phoenix seem to be stuck in one of their old away ruts, with performances in Australia no where near the calibre of 2014-15. Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll, but it seems like they have forgotten what it takes to win away. Winless in five games, Wellington’s struggles continue, and their recent luck can be summed up by a moment towards the end of the second-half, when on 42 minutes Alidovic’s header was blocked by Durante, and from the counter-attack, Blake Powell went close for the Nix, but his shot on the turn was a whisker wide of Jets custodian Mark Birighitti’s left post. If that had gone an inch the other side of the post, momentum and the match could have turned in favour of the New Zealand side, but things just have not fallen for Wellington in recent weeks, and the next telling blow was Carney’s second-half match decider.
Outside90 A-League Player of the Year Award
3 – David Carney
2 – Nigel Boogaard
1 – Daniel Mullen
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