The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-1 by Queensland Roar in front of 10,597 fans this evening.
The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-1 by Queensland Roar in front of 10,597 fans this evening.
The Roar remain undefeated on the road this season, and continue their impressive record at EnergyAustralia Stadium, having been beaten in only last season-s Preliminary Final in Newcastle.
Starting the match in a positive fashion, Newcastle looked to have gone one up inside five minutes when Ecuadorian Edmundo Zura headed home from a Jin-Hyung Song free kick, only for his goal to be disallowed for offside.
Continuing to press, just minutes later Zura found Joel Griffiths with an inch perfect pass. Griffiths- angled drive whisked past Liam Reddy-s right post, with the Roar ‘keeper soundly beaten.
In the 16th minute Newcastle were reminded of the threat of the Roar when Massimo Murdocca hit the post following a neat lay off by Scottish midfielder Charlie Miller.
EnergyAustralia Stadium erupted soon after however, with Joel Griffiths- seventh goal in nine games against Queensland sending the Jets to the lead. Following a neat midfield exchange, Zura-s well-weighted ball found Griffiths who checked, before brilliantly curling the ball into the top corner.
It is said you are most vulnerable to concede straight after you have scored and unfortunately for Newcastle the adage came true when only moments later Matt McKay equalised for the Roar. Unmarked in the box, McKay slotted home from ten yards to send the Jets faithful into disbelief.
With play balanced, five minutes later Song put Griffiths through on goal once more. Bearing down on Reddy, the Roar defence did just enough to deflect Griffiths- effort out for a corner.
In the 35th minute the Roar went 2-1 up with goal scorer Miller tapping home a Tim Smits flick-on amid protests of offside. The goal stood, and the Queenslanders took a dramatic lead which they would go on to hold in the second stanza.
Coach Gary van Egmond showed his intent after half time, swapping defender Daniel Piorkowski with attacking midfielder Jesper Hakansson in the 52nd minute.
The move seemed to have the desired effect with the Jets enjoying the better of the second half exchanges.
A barrage of Newcastle raids merely lacked a final touch, substitute Kaz Patafta hitting the side netting moments after coming on and Joel Griffiths forcing a spectacular one-handed save from Reddy in the dying moments of the match.
Despite a strong effort from the Novocastrians, Queensland hung on to their one goal lead, ensuring they left the Hunter with all three points.
Van Egmond was left frustrated after the match and felt that it was another case of missed opportunities from his team.
“I think we obviously dominated most of the game but that doesn-t turn into goals,” he explained. “It-s not how many passes you get it-s how many goals you get that wins the game.”
“We have too many people who want the ball to feet and they-re not prepared to run and receive it. So it-s a little bit frustrating at this stage.”
“We-ve got a tough time in front of us, and it-s going to take a big effort from everyone at the club to ensure that we can get into this top four,” van Egmond said.
Match Details:
Newcastle Jets Squad. 1. Ante COVIC (gk), 2. Adam GRIFFITHS (13. Adam D-APUZZO 89-), 3. Jade NORTH (c), 8. Matt THOMPSON, 9. Joel GRIFFITHS, 10. Jin-Hyung SONG (7. Kaz PATAFTA 86-), 11. Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 23. Edmundo ZURA, 25. Daniel PIORKOWSKI (6. Jesper HAKANSSON 52-), 26. Mark MILLIGAN.
Unused substitutes: 20. Ben Kennedy (gk)
Yellow cards: Mark Milligan 83-
Red cards: Nil
Queensland Roar Squad. 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Andrew PACKER, 4.Craig MOORE, 5. Josh McCLOUGHAN, , 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Sergio VAN DIJK, 10. Charlie MILLER (7. Michael ZULLO 54-), 15. Matt McKAY, 18. Danny TIATTO, 23. Tim SMITS (25. Adam SAROTA 79-), 24. Matt MUNDY
Unused substitutes: 6. David Dodd, 20. Griffin McMaster (gk)
Yellow cards: Andrew Packer 40-
Red cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets: 1 (J. Griffiths 23-)
Queensland Roar: 2 ( McKay 24-/Miller 35-)
Crowd: 10,597
Referee: Craig Zetter
