A first win of the season, as the proverbial monkey is removed from Ernie Merrick’s back with three points secured at Spotless Stadium.
The Jets have put in a string of solid performances without securing a win in the opening rounds, with the win coming at a welcome time.
A-LEAGUE: Fearnley gives inspirational address
W-LEAGUE: What we learnt against the Wanderers
Here’s what we learnt:
Winning ugly
Merrick spoke openly about his thoughts on the performance post-game labelling it his side’s worst of the season.
“I thought we played our worst football and won, with a clean sheet – I couldn’t believe it,” Merrick said.
“It’s very important to win games and if you can play ugly to win that’s great but I wouldn’t like to play like that every week.”
The experienced Scotsman was quick to point out the impact the surface at Spotless had on both teams as well as the overall quality of the match.
Dimi dominates
Fresh off a national team training camp, Dimi laid on a killer ball to find Nikolai Topor-Stanley for the Jets first goal and was in the think of everything alongside Ronald Vargas.
He went close to scoring on the counter before eventually teeing up a goal for the Venezuelan during stoppage time.
It’s been a solid start to the season from the diminutive midfielder, and Friday night’s performance will give him a world of confidence.
Mossy goes big
The experienced campaigner has seamlessly stepped into the role of number one gloveman and is relishing his time between the sticks.
It was a big night for the Kiwi international, who put in the Save of the Round on top of a couple of other big plays in the penalty area.
An honourable mention also needs to go to Nikolai Topor-Stanley who put in a Man of the Match performance that featured a game-high 8 clearances.
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— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) November 23, 2018
