Newcastle Jets Chief Executive Officer Lawrie McKinna and Head Coach Ernie Merrick ventured to Shenzhen, China over the weekend for meetings with Club owner Mr Martin Lee.
McKinna and Merrick flew to the People’s Republic on Friday morning to visit Lee’s LEDMAN Group headquarters. It was there that Merrick met the Club’s Chairman in person for the first time.
While the trip lasted just four days, Merrick and McKinna managed to watch two professional matches live during their brief stay.
On Saturday the pair saw the Sven-Göran Eriksson coached Shenzhen FC take on Beijing Renhe in China League One (second division), with the game ending in a nil-all draw.
The pair then cast their eyes over sister club Shenzhen Ledman FC, who played out a 1-1 draw with Suzhou Dongwu at the Bao’an Stadium on Sunday. Ledman FC striker Mai Sijing scored a 90th minute equaliser for the hosts.
The result meant Ledman FC kept their lead at the top of the Chinese League Two – South (third division) table on goal difference to Sichuan Longfor FC.
Ledman FC must finish the regular season in the top four in order to have the chance to be promoted to China’s League One in the playoffs.
Newcastle Jets will commence pre-season training on Thursday 22 June 2017.
