The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-0 by Perth Glory at ME Bank Stadium in Western Australia this evening.
The Newcastle Jets have been defeated 2-0 by Perth Glory at ME Bank Stadium in Western Australia this evening.
Goals to Wayne Srhoj and Adriano Pellegrino ended the Jets- unbeaten start to the season in a match played in slippery conditions in front of 9,398 fans.
The opening period of the game was real arm-wrestle, with neither side able to dictate terms or create clear cut chances in front of goal. That was until Srhoj netted in the 24th minute after he latched onto a Branko Jelic through ball. After a delightful first touch, Srhoj was clean through on goal and slipped the ball expertly underneath the onrushing Ben Kennedy in the Jets- goal.
Moments later and Head Coach Branko Culina was forced to reshuffle his side when Ben Kantarovski succumbed to an ankle injury after being caught in an awkward tackle. Striker Sean Rooney was brought on in place of the central midfielder and the visitors ended the half on the front foot.
Sasho Petrovski forced a fine save from Tando Velaphi when he powerfully headed a Fabio Vignaroli corner toward goal in the 41st minute.
In the dying moments of the half, skipper Matt Thompson hit the post when he too was able to get on the end of a Vignaroli set-piece.
The Jets continued to press for the equaliser after the half-time break, but lacked the killer touch in front of goal to restore parity.
In the 67th minute Petrovski had another opportunity score after some delightful lead up work by his teammates. Ljubo Milicevic advanced down the right for the visitors and whipped in a superb cross for former Glory defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley to nod down for Petrovski, who was unable to keep his first-time strike down.
Perth-s livewire winger Pellegrino then ended the game as a contest when he met a well weighted cut back from Naum Sekulovski on the half-volley and slammed the ball into the bottom corner of the net. The wonderstrike was Pellegrino-s first goal of the Hyundai A-League 2009/10 season and gave the Glory a two goal cushion that they would hold for the remainder of the match.
Culina explained that he was disappointed with his side-s performance but believed that it was an understandable hiccup at this early point in the season.
“It-s a difficult trip and it was always going to be a danger game given that Perth had not won and they were at home for the first time. We probably helped them a little, we didn-t keep the ball as well as we would have liked.”
“In saying that I-m not too disappointed because we are still a work in progress,” he said.
The Jets will return home to take on Gold Coast United next Sunday at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Tickets for this encounter are available from www.proticket.com.au or by calling (02) 4915 2345.
Match Details:
Perth Glory: 1. Tando VELAPHI (gk), 4. Andy TODD, 6. Chris COYNE, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 8. Victor SIKORA (17. Todd HOWARTH 90+2-), 10. Wayne SRHOJ, 11. Branko JELIC (24. Matthew MAYORA 71-), 12. Scott NEVILLE, 16. Adriano PELLEGRINO (23. Andrija JUKIC 90-), 19. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21. Mile STERJOVSKI
Unused substitutes: 20. Aleks VRTESKI (gk)
Yellow cards: Adriano Pellegrino 48-, Naum Sekulovski 53-, Jacob Burns 62-
Red cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D-APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI (15. Sean ROONEY 31-), 7. Jin-Hyung SONG (19. Jason NAIDOVSKI 76-), 8. Matt THOMPSON (c), 9. Sasho PETROVSKI, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 16. Jason HOFFMAN (2. Angelo COSTANZO 84-), 17. Fabio VIGNAROLI
Unused substitutes: 20. Neil YOUNG (gk)
Yellow cards: Ben Kantarovski 5-, Sasho Petrovski 23-, Fabio Vignaroli 31-, Sean Rooney 45+1-, Ljubo Milicevic 45+1-
Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory: 2 (Srhoj 24-, Pellegrino 72-)
Newcastle Jets: 0
Referee: Craig ZETTER
Crowd: 9,398
