The disappointment of the opening two rounds of the Westfield W-League continued this afternoon for the Newcastle Jets when they were defeated 1-0 by Sydney FC during their first home game at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
The disappointment of the opening two rounds of the Westfield W-League continued this afternoon for the Newcastle Jets when they were defeated 1-0 by Sydney FC during their first home game at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
The Newcastle Jets were faced with an early setback when Sydney FC-s Leena Khamis struck a strong ball straight into the back of the net in just the fifth minute of the game.
The Jets found possession in Sydney-s half quickly, but it was not until 15 minutes into the game that they had their first quality chance in front of the goalmouth, however the score remained at 1-0 in Sydney-s favour.
Sydney-s Linda O-Neill then put her side in a perfect position for a second goal soon after but none of her teammates were waiting on the opposite end of her cross.
Jets Vice Captain, Amber Neilson, was quick to respond with a kick from halfway over the heads of Sydney-s defence to a waiting Gema Simon who was unable to reach the ball before Sydney keeper, Nikola Deiter.
Sydney continued to worry the Jets, while Kirstyn Pearce was awarded a yellow card after making contact with Khamis during a tackle.
Midway through the second half, Kate Hensman provided the Jets with a chance to equalise the score, sending a through ball past a dummying Emma Stewart to Simon who was held by Sydney-s defence.
Minutes later, Pearce sent the ball to a waiting Hayley Crawford on the edge of the box, however the Captain-s shot flew over the crossbar and the Jets remained goalless.
In the Jets best chance of the first half, Stewart broke away from Sydney-s defence to face a difficult one on one with Sydney-s keeper, but was unable to equalise as her shot went straight into the hands of Deiter.
Jets keeper, Alison Logue, continued to show her worth when Sydney-s Kylie Ledbrook shot towards the top of the goal, only to be stopped by a fingertip after Logue dived to halt a second goal for the opposition.
The second half saw Simon and Crawford each on target for an equaliser though both shots were stopped by Deiter.
Newcastle suffered a blow when Loren Mahoney was injured and carried off the field on a stretcher with a calf injury and replaced by Caitlin Jarvie.
Stewart continued to make her presence known in Sydney-s goalmouth, with Leia Smith by her side who was substituted onto the park shortly into the second half.
Jarvie made an impression soon after she took to the park with a runaway attempt, but was stopped just outside the box on her quest for the Jets- first goal.
During injury time, Logue again showed her worth when she dove to hit away a shot before Sydney-s Catherine Cannulli struck a second attempt to Logue who caught the ball from her position on the ground.
The Jets found possession in Sydney-s half during the closing minutes of the game, however the home side were unable to find a goal to salvage any points from the game.
Despite being three rounds into the season and still without a goal to her side-s name, Jets Vice Captain, Amber Neilson, was pleased with the effort on the park.
“No goal is OK, we are still working hard and playing good football, game wise we are doing fine – we just need to press on during the final third and take our chances,” she said.
Although Coach Wayne O-Sullivan changed the line up of his frontline ahead of this afternoon-s match, luck was not on the Jets side despite the fresh feet of Emma Stewart.
“I thought Emma Stewart-s contribution was good, but I thought the three up front were a little bit starved of service and as a team we didn-t perform the way we did before from back to middle to front and we certainly were not as dominant, so those three suffered as a consequence,” he said.
The Jets will again play at home next weekend against Central Coast Mariners at Wanderers Oval on Saturday 24th October, kicking off at 4:00pm.
Match Details
Newcastle Jets Women 0
Sydney FC Women 1
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Referee: Kirralee GARDINER
Newcastle Jets Women line-up: 1. Alison LOGUE (gk), 3. Pelay INGLES, 4. Loren MAHONEY (13. Caitlin JARVIE 67-), 5. Stacey DAY (18. Leia Smith 61-), 6. Amber NEILSON, 7. Gema SIMON, 9. Kate HENSMAN, 10. Hayley CRAWFORD (c), 11. Carlie IKONOMOU, 12. Emma STEWART (8. Bronte BATES 79-), 16. Kirstyn PEARCE
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Emma-Kate DEWHURST (gk)
Yellow Cards: Kirstyn PEARCE 20-
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney FC Women line-up: 1. Nikola DEITER (gk), 3. Danielle BROGAN, 4. Alesha CLIFFORD, 6. Servet UZUNLAR, 7. Heather GARRIOCK (c), 8. Julie RYDAHL, 10. Kylie LEDBROOK, 11. Cathrine PAASKE, 15. Kyah SIMON (12. Michelle CARNEY 85-), 16. Linda O-NEILL (13. Catherine CANNULLI 71-) , 19. Leena KHAMIS
Substitutes Not Used: 9. Sarah WALSH, 20. Carla MONFORTE (gk)
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
