The Newcastle Jets have cemented a top two position on a very congested Westfield W-League ladder, following their 3 – 0 victory over the Brisbane Roar at AJ Kelly Park.
It was a blistering start from the Roar, as Britt Eckerstrom was called upon in the early exchanges to make a number of crucial saves.
Despite the press from the home side – who just had a shot go off the woodwork – it would be the Jets, through Arin Gilliland who would open the scoring after an error from Roar custodian, Mackenzie Arnold.
Eckerstrom again made her presence felt at AJ Kelly Park shortly after, pulling off a stunning point blank save to deny a charging Emily Gielnik an equaliser.
The play proved a crucial one, as the Jets marched up field off the back of a cleared Roar corner, with Kingsley hitting van Egmond with a superb long ball and the Matilda combining nicely with Gilliland to double their advantage against the run of play.
That wouldn’t be the last of it for the Chicago Red Stars midfielder, as Gilliand again combined with van Egmond at the top of the box, before rounding Arnold and completing a first half hat-trick in emphatic fashion.
A shell-shocked Roar outfit returned in the second half looking to turn things around on the scoresheet, sending numbers forward and testing the Jets defence.
The back four of Orgill, Davis, Prior and Brewer were resolute in defence, and were supported by Eckerstrom who showcased some excellent shot-stopping to maintain a second clean sheet for the season.
The second half remained scoreless, but the damage was already done for the visitors as the Jets secured second position and set up a massive clash with the Glory at home this weekend.
From the coach:
“It was a big test today, Brisbane have some real quality players in their team and we knew we’d have to be on our game and at our best to get a result and I’m pleased for the girls,” said Deans.
“We had a good chat about what we wanted to do things and how Brisbane play … to find the best way tot get the most our of our players, I think in the first half we did that pretty well.
“The performance was OK in patches and I think from a coaching perspective that’s a good thing because we still know we’ve got a lot of room for improvement.
The moments:
1′ | 0 – 0 | And we’re away in Brisbane for our #WLeague clash with the Roar! #BRIvNEW
15′ | 1 – 0 | GOAL! Arin Gilliand gets us off the mark! #BRIvNEW
31′ | 2 – 0 | GOAL! Gilliland again! A first half brace from our American import sees us double our advantage in Brisbane #BRIvNEW
40′ | 3 – 0 | GOOOALLL! Gilliland completes a first half hat-rick as we go three clear in Brisbane – wow! #BRIvNEW
Hat-trick hero! Arin Gilliland is on fire in Brisbane! ??? #BRIvNEW pic.twitter.com/5alBxbWXOJ
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) December 10, 2017
46′ | 3 – 0 | And play is back underway in Brisbane! #WLeague #BRIvNEW
70′ | 3 – 0 | We still hold a three goal advantage as we enter the final 20 minutes of this clash at AJ Kelly Park #WLeague #BRIvNEW
Ground: AJ Kelly Park
Attendance: 1,288
Newcastle Jets: 2.Hannah BREWER, 3.Natasha PRIOR, 5.Arin GILLILAND, 6.Cassidy DAVIS, 9.Katie STENGEL, 10.Emily VAN EGMOND, 16.Nikola ORGILL, 17.Jenna KINGSLEY, 18.Clare WHEELER, 20.Claire COEHLO (gk), 21.Pana PETRATOS, 23.Tori HUSTER, 28.Britt ECKERSTROM (gk)
Subs: 8.Sophie NENADOVIC, 11.Cortnee VINE, 20.Claire COEHLO (gk), 21.Pana PETRATOS
Subs Not Used: 20.Claire COEHLO (gk)
Yellow cards: N/A
Red cards: N/A
Goals: 5.Arin GILLILAND (15’, 31’, 40’)
Brisbane Roar: 1.Mackenzie ARNOLD (gk), 2.Carson PICKETT, 4.Clare POLKINGHORNE (c), 6.Celeste BOUREILLE, 8.Kaitlyn TORPEY, 9.Wai Ki CHEUNG, 10.Katrina GORRY, 13.Tameka BUTT, 14.Summer O’BRIEN, 16.Hayley RASO, 17.Emily GIELNIK,
Subs: 7.Ayesha NORRIE, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 15.Abbey LLOYD, 20.Georgina WORTH (gk)
Subs Not Used: 20.Georgina WORTH (gk)
Yellow cards: 4.Clare POLKINGHORNE (85’)
Red cards: N/A
Goals: N/A
