The Newcastle Jets have continued their excellent start to the 2017-18 A-Leagu season with a 3-nil domination of the Wellington Phoenix.
Final score
Newcastle Jets 3
Wellington Phoenix 0
The Newcastle Jets host Wellington Phoenix at Hunter Stadium in Round 5 of the A-League. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage starting from 7:50pm AEDT.
It really is a dream scenario, twenty minutes gone into a game and you are leading 3-nil. This is the position the Nix found themselves in last week against Brisbane and much like the great Milan side of the 2005 Champions League final, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
Wellington took their foot completely off the gas and conceded three goals to draw the game against Brisbane and with that gave away a massive opportunity to claim their first win of the season.
I suppose if it can happen to Kaka and that Milan team full of superstars it can happen to anyone. It will be interesting to see how Wellington react or if they are still haunted by the outcome of last week.
Newcastle, on the other hand, will be approaching this game with a bit more confidence and optimism. The first half against the Wanderers was the the worst football they have produced this season and they could be forgiven for suffering from the loss of Vargas, however they improved a great deal in the second half and will feel aggrieved not to have picked up all three points.
The Jets have been the surprise package so far this season and after a number of years down the wrong end of the ladder supporters will be feeling much better about their prospects this year such has been the quality of their performances and results.
Roy O’Donovan has made a blistering start to the season and is in red hot form currently leading the A-league scoring charts with five goals. The Irishman is set to make his 50th A-League appearance and will be keen to continue his good form.
Although O’Donovan didn’t score last week he proved a big threat to WSW with his movement and work rate causing the Wanderers all sorts of problems. Definitely one to watch in this game alongside Nabbout and Petratos as they will look to spearhead the Jets attack once more.
Ernie Merrick will be looking for his team to put together a 90-minute performance and to control the game a lot better than they did last week. Newcastle were dealt another injury blow during the week when defender Daniel Georgievski was ruled out for four weeks with a hamstring injury.
While the ‘Nix have yet to pick up a win they have showed in patches that they can get at teams and cause problems. Goals against Sydney and Brisbane show that Wellington can certainly play and they attack teams from the kick-off.
Wellington need to shore up the defensive side of their game and that aspect will receive a massive boost with the return of Andrew Durante, while the attacking stocks will look a bit better with the inclusion of Gui Finkler after an injury lay off.
Prediction
I feel the Jets will be too strong in this game, they have the confidence of a decent start to the season while I can’t see Wellington recovering from last week. With a strong home crowd behind them I can see Newcastle getting the 3 points.
Newcastle 3, Wellington Phoenix 1.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:50pm AEDT.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Ratings last night: Sat TV #ALeague #FOX on #ONE 54k (Metro 36k Regional 18k) Sat STV #ALeague #FoxSports #NEWvWEL 34k
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Match Report Newcastle Jets 3 Wellington Phoenix 0 We are only 5 games into the new season and sometimes fans can get carried away with early season form but after tonight's performance from the Jets I can certainly forgive Newcastle supporters for talking about top six and their championship credentials. The Jets were really impressive tonight and they played the game at a speed which Wellington couldn't cope with. The passing was incisive and crisp and they continually played it around Wellington players like mannequins on a training pitch. They broke with speed and looked dangerous throughout and in truth the game could of finished by a greater margin. The most pleasing aspect for Ernie Merrick will be the intensity at which his team played at with and without the ball. They put wellington under serious pressure and forced the away team to turnover the ball at an alarming rate. It is a real struggle to find any positives from the away sides performance and it will be another tough week on training pitch for Wellington who are yet to pick up a win this season. Wellington had early warning signs as Newcastle countered them on a number of occasions in the opening 20 minutes with O'Donovan and Petratos causing problems in behind. Wellington just couldn't deal with the intensity of Newcastle's pressure. and it felt that it was only a matter of time before they scored. Roy O'Donovan was making his 50th A League appearance and to mark the occasion he broke the deadlock. after 37 minutes. The striker couldn't believe his luck when a ball which was intended for Smith in the Wellington goal landed at his feet about 8 yards out.His initial strike was saved but his rebound was side footed expertly into the roof of the net. This seemed to take the wind completely out of the Wellington sails and any confidence they had was completely lost. Newcastle were buzzing and winning every ball and it was just before the break where they scored a second. This time it was Dimi Petratos who assisted O'Donovan when the play-maker ghosted past his man into the box and put it on a plate for the Irishman who only had to make contact with his thigh to guide the ball into the net. The second half didn't get any better for the away side as Newcastle made it 3 nil after a brilliant move involving O'Donovan and Nabbout. A lovely back heel from the A leagues leading scored set the move off and the ball eventually found its way to Nabbout who cut inside his man and bent the ball into the right hand side of the net. That was essentially game over and Newcastle continued to dominate the rest of the game to claim a comfortable win. The jets now move into 3rd on the ladder with 11 points from the first 5 games. Exciting times once more for jets fans
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Looking very good. Played at a fast pace tonight and blew Wellington away.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Quality on the counter tonight. Vujica was brilliant. You must be a happy fan tonight. Brilliant performance
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Fair enough, If the Jets continue playing like this i am sure you wont have problems with crowds.
Glen
Roar Rookie
Nah up here we have a music festival and a beer festival going on at the same time along with the bad weather. Just not good timing for the jets.
Midfielder
Guest
Jest are looking good
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 Full Time And thats it. A comfortable win for the Jets. Thanks for joining me for live coverage of tonight's game on The Roar
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 91' Wow, every time a ball gets played into the middle of the park Newcastle just pounce and the Nix turn it over. I would suggest some possession sessions under pressure next week in Wellington.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 89' Long switch to Krishna who runs it out of play. Blow it up Ref, put the Nix out of their misery.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 87' Great hustle again from the Jets. They have worked their socks off tonight and showed great intensity without the ball. Such a one sided game.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 85' Topor Stanley take what can only be described as a centre halfs touch on the edge of the box and the Nix clear the danger, been an easy nights work for the big centre back tonight. Had the Cigars out all second half.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 83' Wellington spread the play and the ball finds its way to Krishna who plays a neat ball into the box. Another penalty shout after a foul but again a soft appeal.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Great call, Kanga. You have a team of which to be proud.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 81' Petratos goes off to a standing ovation.He has been a massive influence on the game and his quality has shone throughout.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 80' 10 left on the clock and the Jets are continuing to dominate. Lovely interlinking passing and the Nix are chasing shadows.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 77' Krishna has been the only positive in the second half for the Nix, shoots wide from a tight angle. He has at least tried to grab the game by the scruff for Wellington.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 76' Nabbout drives at the defence but fails to get his head up and goes too wide.Shot was blocked. Still 3-0 and Jets look like they will see this one out quite comfortably.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Newcastle 3 Wellington 0 74' McGlinchey with a dangerous free kick, good save from Duncan.The first thing he has had to do all half.
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
HAHAHA they have been brilliant tonight, or is it that Wellington are extremely poor