The Jets took home the points in the first of their two home matches this week when they downed the Western Sydney Wanderers at McDonald Jones Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was a tightly contested match with both sides giving the other minimum opportunities to gain the advantage.
But the breakthrough finally came and it was Daniel Penha and Angus Thurgate who combined for the only goal. Thurgate sealed the victory with his 60th minute strike – his third goal of the season.
Here are the big talking points from our win over the Wanderers.
Terrific Thurgate
Jets’ favourite son Angus Thurgate again came up with the decisive moment against Western Sydney, with the 22-year-old’s goal proving the winner as continues to grow into a genuine game-breaker.
It was only a few weeks ago that Thurgate proved to be the deciding factor, when he grabbed the winner against Brisbane Roar in almost the exact same place on the field to seal a 2-1 victory that night.
Despite his young age, Thurgate has become one of the key leaders at the club, appearing in over 70 matches and increasing his career goal tally to seven goals.
We believe if he continues this great form, there’s still more goals for him to add to his tally.
Top Six Race
By taking all three points against the Wanderers, the Jets now move to eighth position on the ladder with 14 competition points to our name.
It was an important victory as we now sit just four points outside the top six with games in hand on the teams above.
Melbourne City and Western United have both shot out ahead on the ladder with an early lead, and there’s only three points separating third and sixth.
The win sees the Jets leapfrog the Wanderers on the table, and we have another chance to close the gap when we take on Macarthur this Saturday.
We host the third-placed side who are also fresh from a win on Wednesday after downing Perth Glory and it’ll be an opportunity to flip the script after we tasted defeat from the Bulls back in Round Five.
Penha the Magician
Our Brazilian wonderkid Daniel Penha produced magic again on Wednesday, bagging another assist when he beautifully lead Thurgate to goal in the second half.
The 21-year-old has fast become a favourite amongst Jets fans, and after his dazzling performances so far, you can understand why.
Penha now has seven assists for the season – two more than nearest rival Daniel De Silva from the Central Coast Mariners – and was described by Manager Arthur Papas post-game as our “point of difference”, proving how threatening he can be.
Currently the record for most assists in a Isuzu UTE A-League season stands at 11, and with 14 regular season matches still to play, it’s a record Danny could easily crush.
