The Newcastle Jets have drawn 1-1 with Western Sydney Wanderers in the Member-only trial match at Wanderers Oval on Saturday.
The Newcastle Jets have drawn 1-1 with Western Sydney Wanderers in the Member-only trial match at Wanderers Oval on Saturday.
In a tight contest, Scott Neville-s first half screamer was cancelled out by Dino Kresinger-s headed goal midway through the second half.
Earlier on, it was the Jets who started the brighter of the two sides, with a golden opportunity to open the scoring inside the first five minutes.
Jobe Wheelhouse was played in behind the Wanderers defence following a deft ball over the top by Ryan Griffiths.
With only goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson to beat, Wheelhouse-s low shot looked to be headed towards the bottom corner only for Tyson to stick a leg out to deny the Jets skipper.
The Jets didn-t have to wait long to hit the front though, with Scott Neville unleashing a powerful strike from 25 metres out that rocketed into the top corner of the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead after nine minutes.
As the first half wore on, the Jets continued to control the lion-s share of possession, with Brazilian recruit Bernardo Ribeiro getting plenty of touches in his first starting appearance at his new Club.
However, the Jets were unable to turn their possession into clear-cut goal scoring opportunities and had to settle for speculative efforts from outside the penalty area.
The Wanderers meanwhile, also struggled to create opportunities in the final third, although striker Dino Kresinger proved to be a constant nuisance to the Jets backline.
In the dying minutes of the first half James Virgili went to ground after working his way into the box, but the Jets- appeals for a penalty were denied and the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The Jets started the second half in a positive fashion, earning back-to-back corners, but they were unable to apply the finishing touches.
Western Sydney were able to get back on level terms in the 61st minute courtesy of Kresinger. Adam D-Apuzzo carried the ball forward from left-back before picking out Kresinger with a pin-point cross and the Croatian made no mistake with his header.
The Jets had two chances to regain the lead shortly after. Firstly, Josh Mitchell shot over from close range under pressure from the Wanderers defence after a Zadkovich free-kick fell kindly for him at the back post.
Not long after, Craig Goodwin had his shot tipped over the bar by Tyson after he was played through by half-time substitute Mitch Oxborrow.
However, neither side was able to break the deadlock as the game wound to a close and the score remained 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.
The day proved to be a big hit with Jets Members. Jets and Broadmeadow Magic officials estimated the crowd to be approximately 4,000.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Scott Neville 9-)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Dino Kresinger 61-)
Crowd: Approximately 4,000.
