Newcastle Jets
3
Match Complete
Melbourne City FC
1
| J. Adelson |  | 88' | ||
| 83' | | B. Schenkeveld | ||
| R. O'Donovan |  | 79' | ||
| N. Topor-Stanley | | 78' | ||
| J. Champness | | 75' | ||
| 55' | | J. Maclaren | ||
| J. E. B. D. Silva | | 22' |
| 9 | Shots | 18 | ||
| 5 | On Target | 7 | ||
| 9 | Fouls | 10 | ||
| 8 | Corners | 7 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 2 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
It’s midtable fare in Round 18 of the A-League, when the Newcastle Jets take on Melbourne City at McDonald Jones Stadium at 7:50pm (AEST). Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match.
Despite being only two spots apart on the ladder – City are in fifth with Newcastle in seventh – the chasm in points, and squads, is grand. Newcastle sits eight points behind the Phoenix, and looks unlikely to claw back the gap in this one given the squads named.
Newcastle has invested all their energies into the Asian Champions League and, with their A-League finals chances all but over, the Jets will name an under 23s side for this game.
A 3-1 win over Persija (of Jakarta) during the week is followed by a perilous away tie against the Antlers of Kashima next Tuesday.
Understandably, the Jets will be leaving their missiles in the hangar tonight when Melbourne City visits.
City might have assured a finals berth, but their recent form is disastrous with only one win in six.
Last week’s home draw against Adelaide ended strongly, with new man Jamie Maclaren getting his first goal in his first start for his new side to level the scores.
And while Maclaren’s arrival should add some attacking bite, City seems to be a side in constant transition.
Since Warren Joyce has taken over as manager, players have been constantly coming and going from the side, or sitting on the bench (or in the stands) waiting to depart.
With the season more than half over questions remain as to whether Joyce knows his best side – or whether Joyce’s squad tinkering is over.
Doubts remain over Luke Brattan’s long term position with the side (with some of the Asian transfer windows still open) and if he departs this season, one wonders who will be pulling the strings in midfield for City.
Still this game represents a fantastic opportunity for City’s ‘regulars’ to play themselves into form. With Newcastle promising a reserves team for this game, it should be a stroll for City and might even be a turning point in their season.
On paper and form it does look like City will be making up the numbers in the finals. But a confidence boosting win in Newcastle could be a platform to build from.
Alternatively a loss would be cataclysmic. If they cannot take the points tonight, the spotlight on Joyce’s reign should be blinding.
Prediction
We can’t be sure of the depth of quality in the Newcastle squad, but it will unlikely compare to a City side with Jamie Maclaren, Riley McGree, Luke Brattan and new Tottenham Hotspurs loanee Shayon Harrison.
It would take a very brave pundit indeed to tip against City… but we thought the same thing about Brisbane last Friday night, and they made fools of us all.
Newcastle Jets 0 – Melbourne City 3
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Warren Joyce's ego that's why
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Well played there Jets. My tips are coming in.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
It’s getting juicy! Who said a top 6 finals series was boring :)
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
That's all from me folks. An appalling night to be a City supporter, but a great one to be the Jets general manager. I wouldn't want to be the Kashima Antlers right now! Have a great night all and I'll see you next week.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
MATCH REPORT. Newcastle earned their 3-1 victory tonight through their patient and predatory defensive work and clinical counter attacking. Playing a far-from-full-strength team they allowed City to play the ball around aimlessly and waited for the right time to strike. This was a particularly good strategy against an awful City team who wasted their possession, made few incisive balls into dangerous positions and only really had a couple of patches of real urgency or tempo. It was a tactical masterclass from Ernie Merrick, who massively exposed City’s puzzling formation – using giant centreback Harrison Delbridge at right back on the speedy Brazilian Jair – and found the soft City underbelly on multiple occasions. Newcastle were superb on the counter all night with Jair the livewire playmaker who performed tonight like a player who had something to prove. Jair scored the opening goal of the game in the first half from a well taken header, after setting up the opportunity himself before laying off the pass and getting to the back post to get onto the cross from Koutroumbis. All night Jair terrorised Delbridge who didn’t have the footspeed or wits to keep up with the Brazilian, who also brought Thurgate and Sheppard with him on the journey. After conceding Newcastle upped the ante by bringing on Roy O’Donovan and Joey Champness, who both combined to create the next two goals to take it to 3-1 and take it beyond doubt. This was a typical City performance in many ways; mounds of possession (68%) but a lot of horizontal balls and few real meaningful chances. The stats will say they had 18 shots (to 9) and 7 on target (to 5), but they only really threatened the goal in four of those – and one of them went in from Maclaren after a fortuitous deflection that landed on his instep for a simple tap-in. Riley McGree, who came on as a substitute tonight, had the other golden chance off his head but put it over the bar from 5 yards when he really should have done better. And that was the story of the night for City. Poor final ball after poor final ball until, ultimately, they gave up possession and let Newcastle carve-up their confused and displaced defensive line. The magnitude of this loss for City and Joyce should not be brushed aside. This was a comfortable loss to a team outside the finals and featuring less than half of their regular first XI. This was really a shameful effort from City, who got their formation and tactics wrong from the first minute. Surely, surely, by now Joyce’s performances will be seriously critically analysed by top City brass. MAN OF THE MATCH was Jair, and a great confidence booster this was. He was lively, he took players on, his passing was sublime and he will loom large in tonight’s entry in Harrison Delbridge’s journal. He scored the first, set up the second with an incisive long ball to O’Donovan and also stung the hands of Galekovic when it was 0-0. A fighting comeback from the Brazilian who did more than enough to suggest he can salvage something out of this season.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
6 points behind City and the Nix. The race is on!
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Embarrassing to say the least. Well done Jets but WTF is this CFG investment all about if not about winning silverware. Clearly they don’t rate that very highly given that Joyce is being allowed to tip quality players out of the club and all for what?
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
FULL TIME. Newcastle - against all odds - win this game 3-1. City and Warren Joyce should hang their heads in shame tonight.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
The "NEWCASTLE" cheer goes up here. It's been an extraordinary effort tonight to win this and put a dagger into the heart of Warren Joyce who has had a tactical nightmare here.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
We've passed the 90. There will be 3 EXTRA MINUTES.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
89' - Vujica joining in, taking an extremely optimistic SHOT on goal from 25 yards out which is HIGH and WIDE. Can't fault him for having a crack though, with the defenders backed off and few passes ahead of him.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
88' - Wales forces a SAVE from outside the box, low to Italiano's right, after a good run and cut back on this right.
88'
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
87' - Newcastle win a CORNER, keeping up their press, playing on pure enthusiasm and excitement.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I can’t see how Harrison is going to break into the senior side of an EPL team.
83'
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
84' - City make a SUBSTITUTION. Harrison is OFF and Wales is ON
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
83' - Schenkeveld gets a YELLOW CARD. It's a childish effort from the experienced Dutchman, who throws the ball away in disgust after a talking to from the referee.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
BRING ON KASHIMA!!
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
It looks like it was McGree who lost possession - again - and Vujica carries, cuts back to Champness who plays in O'Donovan on the left with no players near him and he has the time to find the far post. It's a brilliant effort tonight by Newcastle. This will be inspiring to the "first teamers" watching up in the stands. It's now 3-1.