The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-1 this afternoon by Sydney FC at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-1 this afternoon by Sydney FC at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In a frustrating trip to the state-s capital, the Jets ultimately left with nothing, despite a good performance. A first half goal to Mark Bridge was cancelled out by a Matt Thompson strike, but a Steve Corica penalty gave the Sky Blues- the three Hyundai A-League competition points.
In the 22nd minute, Jets marquee player Fabio Vignaroli was brought down in the area by former Jets midfielder Stuart Musialik. However, Thompson-s resulting spot kick was expertly saved by Sky Blues- custodian Clint Bolton to keep the scores level.
Moments later and another former Newcastle player, Bridge, gave Sydney the lead when he picked the ball up 30-yards from goal and, after pushing to the edge of the penalty box, hit a stunning right-footed strike, giving Ben Kennedy no chance in the Jets- goal.
The lead would not last long though, with Vignaroli playing in dynamic midfielder Kaz Patafta who blew by Korean defender Sung-Hwan Byun. Patafta-s strike from 10 yards out was parried by Bolton into the path of Thompson who duly slotted home a deserved equaliser.
Ten minutes into the second stanza and Alex Brosque moved through the Jets defence and one-on-one with Kennedy. The Jets- ‘keeper brought down the Sydney striker inside the area, and then Corica stepped up to convert the penalty.
Far from being down and out, the Jets pressed hard for an equaliser and almost found one when Vignaroli picked out Patafta with a precision cross, but the diminutive midfielder-s strike was held well by Bolton.
Perhaps the Jets- best chance to find a late leveller fell to Korean dynamo Jin-Hyung Song who hit an outrageous strike on the turn 20-yards out from goal, only to see his effort hit the underside of the bar and bounce harmlessly away from goal with Bolton well beaten.
However, the Jets would ultimately leave with nothing, and indeed, to cap a frustrating afternoon, Tarek Elrich was shown a red card in the last few moments of the match for a challenge on Byun.
Head Coach Branko Culina was philosophical about the loss after the game.
“In spite of the loss, there was so much positive to talk about. There were some outstanding performances from some of the players, but at the end of the day we have got nothing to show and that-s what hurts.”
“I feel for the players, I-ve been around for a long, long time as a coach to know that these sorts of things happen, but I feel for them because they deserved better, particularly today,” he explained.
The Jets will pick themselves up immediately in order to take on Perth Glory next Friday at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Tickets for this game are available from www.proticket.com.au or by calling (02) 4915 2345.
Match Details:
Sydney FC: 1. Clint BOLTON (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL, 4. Simon COLOSIMO, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 10. Steve CORICA (c), 12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 18. Adam CASEY (16. Chris PAYNE 82-), 19. Mark BRIDGE (13. Anthony GOLEC 90+2-), 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN
Unused substitutes: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI, 24. Zach CAIRNCROSS
Yellow cards: Sung-Hwan Byun 90-
Red cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D-APUZZO (2. Angelo COSTANZO 78-), 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 7. Jin-Hyung SONG, 8. Matt THOMPSON (c), 9. Sasho PETROVSKI (19. Jason NAIDOVSKI 70-), 11. Tarek ELRICH, 17. Fabio VIGNAROLI, 22. Kaz PATAFTA (26. Ali ABBAS 68-), 25. Labinot HALITI
Unused substitutes: 20. Neil YOUNG (gk)
Yellow cards: Sasho Petrovski 37-
Red cards: Tarek Elrich 90-
Sydney FC: 2 (Bridge 26-, Corica 55- (pen))
Newcastle Jets: 1 (Thompson 37-)
Referee: Ben WILLIAMS
Crowd: 10, 357
