The Newcastle Jets have come away with a point on the road, sharing the points in a 1-1 draw with Western United at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
The match started at a canter when the Jets opened up Western United with Daniel Stynes causing havoc down the left as his cut-back found Jaushua Sotirio who saw his shot well saved by Western United goalkeeper Jamie Young.
Angus Thurgate started to gain momentum in midfield and played Sotirio in behind the Western defence. The attacker again forced Jamie Young into another save.
The home side took the lead against the run of play when Lachlan Wales curled his shot into the top right corner to give John Aloisi’s side the lead in the 13th minute.
The Jets responded almost straight away when Daniel Stynes scored a goal-of-the-year contender as he cut inside from the left wing to curl his shot past a helpless Young to put the Jets level.
The Jets continued to push for a goal to go ahead as they continued to press the home side however the match stayed level heading into the break.
Newcastle again came out firing at the start of the second half, Beka Mikeltadze’s shot in the 56th minute was deflected away for a corner which could have easily snuck in.
Western United defender Jacob Tratt was given his marching orders when Mikeltadze was played through one-on-one with Tratt bringing down the Georgian international on the edge of the box.
The home side had a chance to take the lead but Jack Duncan was alert to the danger making a smart double save.
Newcastle pushed hard for a winner but the home side held firm as both sides shared the points.
The Jets are back in action at McDonald Jones Stadium next Sunday kicking off at 3pm.
