Gary van Egmond believes the Jets missed an important opportunity to solidify their spot in the top six against Perth.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets head coach Gary van Egmond believes the Jets missed an important opportunity to solidify their spot in the Hyundai A-League top six following their 1-0 loss to Perth Glory at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
The Jets now sit in sixth place, just two points clear of the Glory who book end a mid-table log-jam that sees five teams separated by four competition points or less.
“We’re back in the mix again, we’ve made it difficult for ourselves, we didn’t reap the rewards of getting good results against Brisbane away and Victory away,” van Egmond said.
“We’ve got ourselves back into the group to try and stay in the top six.
“That’s something that we could have avoided but unfortunately it hasn’t so roll up the sleeves and we’re on again.”
The Jets enjoyed 59% of possession and had 24 shots at goal to Perth-s eight on Saturday, but Van Egmond said he had been left frustrated by the Jets inability to turn the plethora of chances into goals.
“We need to get better at controlling games with the ball and that’s the task because it’s not about just about being able to play counter-attack football, it’s about also at stages being able to control the game with the ball,” he said.
“You should be really controlling the game, taking your opportunities and ensuring you get the three points. Today that didn’t happen.”
The Jets appeared to have equalised when defender Kew Jaliens bundled a half-volley towards goal in the 71st minute, only for Danny Vukovic to attempt to clear the ball as it looked to have crossed the goal line.
Despite the goal not being awarded by the linesman, van Egmond was adamant that Jaliens had scored.
“It’s a goal. There’s not much we can do about it other than the fact that the linesman didn’t give it,” van Egmond said.
“They have a tough job but at the end of the day you get put there to do that job and you have to make those decisions.
“I don’t think it was a case where it was just a little bit over the line – I thought the one we had against the Mariners was a tougher call than this one – unfortunately they’ve gone the other way.”
Although disappointed with the decision, van Egmond believes the referees need to be given support in order to improve along with the progression and expansion of the A-League.
“We know it’s not an easy job – the one thing that we’ve got to try and do is support them. We’ve got to support them as much as we can,” he said.
“The game has gone on in leaps and bounds from a coaching perspective, from professionalism as far as players, to the way in which the clubs are run and the amount of money that’s being involved now.
“So I think the onus is on the FFA to ensure that they keep on working and helping the officials to keep on getting them better.”
