The Newcastle Jets have played out a scoreless draw with the Brisbane Roar at Energy Australia Stadium this afternoon. In front of a crowd of 7066 people, the Jets were unable to turn their dominant possession into goals.
The Newcastle Jets have played out a scoreless draw with the Brisbane Roar at Energy Australia Stadium this afternoon. In front of a crowd of 7066 people, the Jets were unable to turn their dominant possession into goals.
The first half was a lack luster affair with both teams holding possession but not really creating any great chances. Newcastle-s best chance of the first half fell to Marko Jesic in the 28th minute when a mix up in the Brisbane Roar defence saw Jesic receive the ball in a good position outside the box. He attempted to curl the ball around Brisbane keeper, Mickael Theoklitos, but his shot missed the target and the keeper was not troubled.
Brisbane-s best opportunity came in the 34th minute when a ball into the box saw Thomas Broich shaping to shoot on the edge of the six yard box but the ball was stolen from him by a retrieving Kasey Wehrman who cleverly headed the ball back to his keeper.
The second half was dominated by the Newcastle Jets and they were unlucky not to get on the score sheet. An outstanding opportunity occurred in the 72nd minute when a series of passes in the box between Michael Bridges, Zhang Shuo and Tarek Elrich resulted in a quality cross which was narrowly missed by Jeremy Brockie who arrived late on the far post.
In the 79th minute, Ali Abbas showed some good skill with a series of stepovers before testing Theoklitos with a well hit low shot which was parried around the post. The Newcastle Jets momentum was disrupted in the 82nd minute when Ruben Zadkovich was given a second yellow card for a tackle on Luke Devere. The Newcastle Jets were reduced to ten men for the remaining eight minutes of the match but continued to search for a goal.
In the 87th minute, the Newcastle Jets were caught out when they lost possession in their opponents half. Massimo Murdocca made a strong run through the middle of the park and linked up with Mitch Nichols. His low shot forced a diving save from keeper, Ben Kennedy, who dived to his right.
In the 90th minute, a dangerous run by Zhang Shuo saw him try to link up with Ali Abbas with a cross to the far post but Abbas was unable to get anything on it. The Jets continued to attack well into injury time and Ljubo Milicevic got himself forward in the final moments of the game. A series of passes between Milicevic and Petrovski almost paid off but the final ball to Milicevic, as he ran into the box, was intercepted by a Brisbane Roar defender.
Newcastle Jets coach, Branko Culina, stated “We were very pleased, we fought together and we in fact went for the win with ten men because we knew that playing at home we have to try to get maximum points. Very pleased with the performance under the circumstances, and I am not talking about the issues off the park, putting the team together has been really difficult this week”.
Kasey Wehrman stated “we worked hard, the fans won-t be happy with the result, but they should be happy with the work rate”.
Culina concluded “the commitment was there, particularly in the second half and even towards the last ten minutes when we were a player less, everybody dug that little bit deeper”.
Newcastle Jets 0
Brisbane Roar 0
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Newcastle Jets squad: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D-APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI (19. Ali ABBAS 68-) 7. Kasey WEHRMAN 8. Michael BRIDGES (c), 10. Ruben ZADKOVICH, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 16. Jeremy BROCKIE (13. Sasho PETROVSKI 82-), 18. Marko JESIC (9. Zhang SHOU 68-)
Substitutes not used: 40. Matthew NASH (gk)
Yellow cards: Ruben ZADKOVICH (30-, 81-), Tarek ELRICH (45-), Kasey WEHRMAN (75-)
Red cards: Ruben ZADKOVICH (81-)
Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH, 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES (9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO 76-), 10. HENRIQUE (17. Mitch NICHOLS 84-), 11. REINALDO (8. Massimo MURDOCCA 69-), 15. Matt McKAY (c), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK
Substitutes not used: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk)
Yellow cards: Erik PAARTALU (21-), Jean Carlos SOLORZANO (86-)
Red cards: Nil
