Neither Newcastle Jets nor Adelaide United could find the back of the net in their Hyundai A-League 2015/16 Round 11 clash at Hunter Stadium on Friday, despite the woodwork being struck three times.
A duo of Marcelo Carrusca free kicks plus a Mateo Poljak header were the closet both sides came to scoring in the goalless draw.
The Jets welcomed back skipper Nigel Boogaard into their starting lineup, which saw Ben Kantarovski move into central midfield.
Leonardo missed the match through soreness, allowing Ryan Kitto to come into the starting side, as did Nick Cowburn who replaced Lee Ki-je who has departed Australia for Korea Republic where he is undertaking a medical with Ulsan Hyundai.
In the 10th minute of the match Adelaide United almost took the lead, however Craig Goodwin could not direct a header from close range on target. Sergio Cirio whipped in a dangerous cross from the right side that was met by the ex Jet, whose attempt flashed narrowly wide of Mark Birighitti’s left post.
Six minutes later Jets keeper Birighitti proved that he will not let mid-week transfer speculation affect his on-field performances, pulling off a great reflex save to deny a Dylan McGowan snap shot from close range. Â Â
In the 20th minute Birighitti was beaten, however this time the woodwork denied the Reds, as Marcelo Carrusca’s curling free kick cannoned off the crossbar.
David Carney’s bullet cross from the left just evaded Milos Trifunovic close to the half hour mark.
Six minutes prior to the break it was the Jets who were denied the lead as Poljak’s powerful header rebounded back out off the left post after he ran onto a pinpoint Trifunovic cross.
A duo of David Carney strikes just before the break flew over the crossbar, and the sides went into the break locked at 0-0.
Both sides started the second half quite slowly, and a clear chance failed to present itself until the 56th minute when Carrusca could not keep a shot from inside the 18-yard box under the crossbar.
Birighitti was called into action with half an hour to play, and on this occasion he did well to block a James Jeggo shot on the angle inside the box.
With both the crossbar and the left post having already been struck, it was only fitting that a right post would come into play. This was exactly the case in the 78th minute as another curling Carrusca free kick struck the frame of the goal.
Both sides pushed until the final whistle, however following 90 minutes and additional time neither team could find the breakthrough.
Newcastle Jets 0
Adelaide United 0
Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Attendance: 7,332
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Newcastle Jets: 1. Mark Birighitti (Gk), 3. Jason Hoffman, Nigel Boogaard (C), 5. Ben Kantarovski, 7. Enver Alivodic (27. Braedyn Crowley 67’), 8. Mateo Poljak, 9. Milos Trifunovic, 22. Lachlan Jackson, 23. David Carney, 24. Nicholas Cowburn, 28. Ryan Kitto (6. Cameron Watson 79’)
Substitutes not used: 14. Mitch Cooper, 17. Radovan Pavicevic, 20. Ben Kennedy (Gk)
Yellow cards: Hoffman, Kantarovski, Poljak
Red cards: Nil
Adelaide United: 1. Eugene Galekovic (Gk) ©, 2. Michael Marrone, 4. Dylan McGowan, 7. Pablo Sanchez (11. Bruce Djite 72’), 8. Isaias, 9. Sergio Cirio, 10. Marcelo Carrusca, 16. Craig Goodwin (28. Antoni Trimboli 88’), 18. James Jeggo, 21. Tarek Elrich, 23. Jordan Elsey
Substitutes not used: 5. Osaka Malik, 14. George Mells, 20. John Hall (Gk)
Yellow cards: Djite
Red cards: Nil
