A relatively inexperienced Jets Youth side has held on for a 0-0 draw with runaway National Youth League leaders Gold Coast United.
A gritty performance by the Newcastle Jets Youth Team has given Craig Deans- charges a hard-fought 0-0 draw with top-of-the-table Gold Coast United Youth at Adamstown Oval on Friday evening.
Though the Jets Youth side had a group of its finest players away with the Hyundai A-League team in Wellington, the relatively inexperienced line-up showed great resilience to hold on for the much needed competition point.
The impressive result sees Newcastle leapfrog above Melbourne Victory on the National Youth League ladder.
In another positive for the Jets, goalkeeper Neil Young made his return from a long-term stint on the sidelines, and impressed during the game time he received in the first half. Robbie Kolak came on for Young in the second period and made a series of fine saves against Tahj Minniecon and Robert Russell to maintain the clean sheet for the home side.
At the other end of the pitch, Jets strikers Fabian Iacovelli and Gavin Forbes were largely restricted to shots from outside the penalty area by an equally resilient United defence. Meanwhile, Minniecon and Andrew Barisic tested the home side-s rearguard until the latter succumbed to a hamstring injury just after the halftime interval.
The Jets had their chances to claim all three points in the final stanza, as dynamic midfielder Jesse Pinto probed for an opening in the closing stages of the match.
Unfortunately for the Jets, Pinto was denied by some desperate Gold Coast defending, and the 20-year-old-s dangerous crosses into the box were also diffused by one of the best defensive units in the National Youth League.
Newcastle Jets Youth: 0
Gold Coast United Youth: 0
