The Newcastle Jets have defeated Perth Glory 2-nil on Saturday evening at Ausgrid Stadium.
A double to Kiwi Jeremy Brockie has guided the Newcastle Jets to a convincing 2-0 win over Perth Glory in their Round 5 encounter at Ausgrid Stadium tonight.
The win puts Newcastle equal with Perth Glory on 9-points in second place on the competition ladder; three points behind leaders Brisbane Roar who with a game in hand, have the chance to move to 15 points with a win over Melbourne Victory later tonight.
Newcastle looked determined from the outset, and after taking a two goal lead within the first ten minutes; they went on to control proceedings with a dominant midfield display to continue their undefeated run at home.
Some great finishing from Brockie got the Jets off to a flying start after his early brace set the strong 12,383 home crowd alight; making the most of some exceptional service from the Jets midfield pack early on.
Brockie’s first came nine minutes in when captain Jobe Wheelhouse played him in down the right touch line before using his pace to cut inside the penalty area and place his shot past Daniel Vukovic in the Perth Glory goal.
His second came in spectacular fashion just one minute later, after Kasey Wehrman picked out Brockie with a precision chip pass over the Perth back line, he managed to control the ball and play it over his defenders head before volleying home.
Brockie had a chance to score his hat-trick on 15 minutes after being found in space at the back post, but volleyed over the bar from eleven yards out.
Perth Glory-s first chance of the game came on 20 minutes after a Jets mistake just outside their area, but Ben Kennedy made a comfortable save.
The Jets continued to take the ascendency in the match and add pressure in the final third; Ryan Griffiths came close in quick succession after heading a Kasey Wehrman corner just wide at the front post on 28 minutes and a Wehrman free kick over the bar just three minutes later.
Newcastle looked promising for the remainder of the opening period but couldn-t add to their initial tally going into the half time break.
Francis Jeffers showed his class upfront as he looked to mark his return to the A-League with a goal, but Vukovic tipped his effort over the bar on 55 minutes after his first time turn and volley was goal bound.
Newcastle survived a scare on 60 minutes and after keeping a tight hold on all-time leading goal scorer Shane Smeltz for most of the match, he sent in a dipping shot from 22 yards out that bounced down off the cross bar, much to Ben Kennedy-s delight.
Wheelhouse almost got his second goal in as many weeks after yet another penetrating pass from Wehrman; but Vukovic was equal to the effort pulling off a nice reflex save on 70 minutes.
Smeltz misguided his header past the back post on 77 minutes in a last ditched effort to get his side in the game, but the Jets defence continued to get numbers behind the ball and make things difficult for the Perth Glory front men.
The Jets were unlucky not to go ahead with a third goal when Griffiths looked likely to complete the rout at the 89 minute mark but he cut the ball back instead of shooting before it was shut down by the Perth Glory defence.
“You want to win your home games, and the atmosphere to win was in the sheds prior to tonight’s match,” said coach Gary van Egmond.
“From the first whistle they were on, it was a fantastic start but if we are to be critical of ourselves, we could have gone on with it a little bit more.”
The coach praised the football smarts of returning Jet Francis Jeffers and also the finishing skills of Jeremy Brockie. He also said the team had no injury concerns following the game.
The Jets are away next week to the Melbourne Heart before returning to Ausgrid Stadium to take on a formidable Brisbane Roar outfit on November 19.
Match Details
Newcastle Jets FC 2 (J.Brockie 10-,11-)
Perth Glory FC 0
Saturday 5th November 5pm
Ausgrid Stadium 12,383
Newcastle Jets line up: 1. Ben KENNEDY (GK), 2. Taylor Regan, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 7. Kasey WEHRMAN, 8. Jeremy BROCKIE (25. Jacob PEPPER 90-), 10. Ruben ZADKOVICH (17. James VIRGILI 79-), 11.Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE (c), 13. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Ryan GRIFFITHS, 24 Francis JEFFERS (14. Labinot HALITI 67-).
Substitutes not used: 19. Matthew NASH (GK).
Perth Glory line up: 1. Daniel VUKOVIC (GK), 3. Seb VAN DEN BRINK, 4. Billy MEHMET (27. ANDREZINHO 45-), 6. Chris COYNE, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 8. Adam HUGHES, 9. Shane SMELTZ, 10. Liam MILLER, 13. Travis DODD, 17. Todd HOWARTH, 19. Joshua RISDON.
Substitutes not used:14. Steven MCGARRY, 30. Lewis ITALIANO (GK)
