Sunday afternoon’s loss in Wellington was a tough one to take, and not the start the boys would have hoped for in the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season.
There was plenty of positives to take from this one, with a number of good performances across the park and a positive record kept intact.
REPORT: The wash-up from the trip across the ditch
Here are three things we learnt from Sunday’s match.
Ronnie is on fire
The little drop of the shoulder and roll, the backheels, the nutmegs, the extraordinary passes.
Everything that Ronnie Vargas promised to bring to the league last year before injury brought a halt to his season, looks to be on its way this time around.
Ernie Merrick made special mention of the Venezuelan in the post-game presser, and for good reason. He is one to watch in 2018/19.
Dimi’s right foot rocket
It proved only consolation in the end, but what a consolation goal it was from Dimi Petratos.
His 95th-minute strike nearly put a hole in the back of the net and reminded Hyundai A-League and Newcastle Jets fans just what Dimi can do.
When looking at that goal, new man Mitch Austin deserves a special mention too. His lightning pace and deft square ball allowed the number 7 to put boot through ball.
It was one of several powerful strikes on goal, as Petratos put Phoenix custodian, Filip Kurto to work with a couple of very close calls during the opening round.
Scoring away from home
That late, late goal from Dimi Petratos helped keep an important record intact for Newcastle on the road.
The Jets have scored a goal in every single one of their previous 14 Hyundai A-League games on the road, a streak that reaches all the way back to Round 1 last season.
With the boys facing a quick turnaround ahead of Friday’s trip to Adelaide, they’ll be confident of getting on the scoresheet once again.
