On Thursday night we end our season in a must-win, knockout clash to enter the Australia Cup Round of 32 as Perth Glory come to town.
We began our season in the same fashion, where we unfortunately failed to qualify for the Australia Cup (previously FFA Cup) after losing the same play-off clash against Western United away from home, and while we still are searching for a successful run in the Cup, there has been some exciting moments.
We’ve dived into the archives and picked out five of the best Jets Cup moments since 2014 when it was established.
#5 – PROGRESSION TO THE ROUND OF 16
It took five seasons, but we finally made it past the first round of the Cup with a win over Gold Coast Knights away from home in front over 2,000 local fans back in 2018.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley scored the only goal of the contest with a close range effort in the 11th minute, and we successfully held out the NPL Queensland side to proceed to the next round.
While it may have been second-tier side we defeated, the team from up north put in a strong display and pushed us all the way to the end.
#4 – HALITI SCORES LATE
In 2015, we played a repeat of the year before, and took on the same opponent we face this weekend – Perth Glory.
We managed to score the first of the game with a defence-to-attack effort from David Carney, Perth struck late to send the game into extra time where they also managed to score again, serving us a 2-1 hill to climb late in the 120 minutes of football.
With just five minutes to go though, strker Labinot Haliti pushed forward to find himself on the end of a cross at the back post that was then smashed into the back of the net, sending our local fans at Magic Park into a frenzy.
The game eventually went to a penalty shootout that fell the way of the visitors, but many fans will still remember the euphoria that came from Haliti’s goal.
#3 – PENHA STARTS WITH A BANG
While it technically took place in the Play-off and not in the Round of 32, how could we not include the effort from our magnificent Brazilian at the beginning of the season.
We trailed to Western United away from home, but the game turned on it’s head when Penha stepped up for a free-kick from long-range, firing home an amazing strike that reverberated around the nation on social media afterwards.
The goal instantly stamped Penha as a player to watch in the league, and he didn’t disappoint, finishing as the assists leader of the competition.
#2 – LANGLOIS CAPS OFF THRILLING COMEBACK
We travelled to Melbourne in 2019, hopeful of taking down a Melbourne Victory side who caused us so much pain in the Grand Final a year earlier.
The match turned out to be an absolute thriller with our Newcastle Jets producing one of the best comebacks in the Cup’s history.
After trailing 2-nil with 15 minutes to go, our side turned it around with two goals in seven minutes to level things and take it to extra time.
Deep into the second stanza of extra time, young midfielder Pat Langlois stepped up to the task with a long range effort, and sinking the. Victory in the process.
A truly magical Cup moment.
#1 – NEWCASTLE DERBY WIN
While it may not have been as thrilling as our win in Melbourne in the previous round, our Round of 16 clash with fellow Newcastle club, Edgeworth Eagles was a special night for football in this community.
Over 4,000 packed out the ground at Jack McLaughlan Oval, as two Newcastle sides squared off for the only time in Cup history.
We started the game in excellent fashion with Panamian international Abdiel Arroyo scoring early on, but it was answered with an unreal strike frm Daniel McBreen from an incredible distance – a goal that would prove to be his last in his career.
Our side ended up towering over a young Eagles outfit with Wes Hoolahan, Dimi Petratos and Nick Fitzgerald all adding to the scoresheet to pull off a 5-1 win.
Regardless of the one-sided result, it was a tremendous night out for both Club and the football community.
