The Newcastle Jets Westfield W-league team have been defeated this evening by Adelaide United 3-2 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The Newcastle Jets Westfield W-league team have been defeated this evening by Adelaide United 3-2 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Adelaide’s Sandra Scalzi scored first in the 11th minute of the match, in what was to be a memorable first home game for the Adelaide striker.
The Jets Stacey Day, herself formerly of Adelaide and playing against some of her former team-mates, answered back in the 38th minute, with the 1-1 scoreline taking the teams to the dressing rooms at the conclusion of the first half.
Scalzi struck just a minute into the second half with her second goal, followed just minutes later in the 50th minute with her third.
It was left to Matildas stalwart and Jets captain Cheryl Salisbury to get the Jets back on track with a goal in the 89th minute but it was all too late.
For Head Coach Gary Phillips it was a case of chances missed with his team the better of the two all night only to see a couple of costly mistakes at the back fall Adelaide’s way.
‘Our girls were better as a team on the park and we played a lot sharper than last week, so to take a positive away from tonight we are really starting to gel well as a team,’ Phillips said.
‘Tonight things just didn’t go our way but that’s football. We hit the post three times and but for a coat of paint we would have walked away with the points. We had another goal disallowed and we had an offside spoil another opportunity. I think we were just unlucky.’
‘We had a couple of costly lapses in defence but overall I was proud of the girls, particularly after the day they have had. They have been up before dawn, on buses, planes and then straight onto the pitch to play. It wasn’t the ideal match preparation to travel on game day and unfortunately it took its toll in the form of three points lost,’ Phillips concluded.
The Jets will now look to regroup for Round 3 when they take on hot Westfield W-League favourites Queensland Roar in Lismore on November 8.
