A 10-man Newcastle Jets youth team has been defeated 4-2 by Hamilton Olympic in the NBN State League.
A 10-man Newcastle Jets youth team has been defeated 4-2 by Hamilton Olympic in the NBN State League match at Darling Street Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The Jets found themselves on the back foot early against an in-form Olympic outfit that were coming off seven straight wins.
The Jets were given an early scare when Hamilton hit the post with a header from a long throw inside the first five minutes.
It wasn-t long before the home team found the front with John Majurovski driving the ball into the goal after it was cut back to him at the edge of the area.
The Jets- response was swift however, with forward Dino Fajkovic putting them back on level pegging with a powerful shot from just inside the area after the ball fell kindly for him.
With the score at 1-1, the Jets were beginning to control possession but the match was turned on its head when their goalkeeper James Fogarty was sent off.
Fogarty left his area to clear a through ball, but instead brought down the on-rushing Hamilton striker. The referee deemed Fogarty to have been the last man and he was consequently sent off.
To make matters worse for the Jets, they had no specialist reserve goalkeeper on their bench with regular number one Jack Duncan on international duty with the Australian under 20-s.
This forced Fajokvic to move from his position on the left wing and put on the gloves to try his luck between the sticks.
Fajkovic could do little when the Jets were caught short at the back a short time later with Ben Koina coverting from close range to put Hamilton ahead 2-1.
A Jets turnover lead to Majurovski’s second goal of the game just before half time and Hamilton took a 3-1 lead into the break.
Despite being a man down, the Jets came out strongly after the interval and controlled possession well.
They were rewarded when Blake Green made it 3-2 with a cool finish from the top of the box following a cut back by Andrew Hoole.
However, the joy was short-lived with Hamilton restoring their two-goal advantage a short time later and holding on to secure the three points.
