Tag Archives: cup

Heartbreaking Loss For The Jets….And Some Suspect Refereeing

By Simon Kelly

For most Newcastle United Jets fans Monday nights Round of 32 Australia Cup clash with Brisbane Roar was their first opportunity to witness their team playing locally for at least four months. A healthy 2764 packed into Maitland’s Regional Sportsground, which included a smattering of Roar fanatics.

Without Archie Goodwin, Reno Piscopo and Tom Aquilina this loomed as a close encounter, particularly as the Roar looked to field a near full strength side, minus recent signing Frenchman Florin Berengeur and the injured former Jet Scott Neville.

The Jets began the game with what looked like a fluid 4-4-2. Scott in goals, with Jenkinson, Natta, Cancar and Mauragis as the back-line. Taylor, O’Neill, Timmins and Ingham as the midfield four. Buhagier and Bayliss as the striking duo.

For the first fifteen minutes the Newcastle attack looked very good. The ball movement was fast, helped no doubt by the impeccable looking pitch, the passing accurate and the intent of the players was there for all to see. The use of the width of the pitch, and therefore the wide players, was an obvious decision that was soon to pay dividends.

Trent Buhagier latched onto a defensive clearance and sent the ball out wide to the advancing Dane Ingham. Buhagier had continued his own run at a rapid pace, getting in behind the Brisbane backline, to slide home Ingham’s perfectly measured cross. 90 seconds later and it was almost a carbon copy move. This time though Brisbane keeper Macklin Freke saved well.

Buhagier again almost got his second with a cross-cum-shot that had the keeper stranded, but landed on to the roof of the net. Both Jets fullbacks continually joined the attack, Lucas Mauragis delighting the Hunter crowd with his tenacious tackling as well as his forward raids.

It was though the right back, former Arsenal player Carl Jenkinson, who went closest to scoring the Jets second. This was a wonderful sweeping move that started with Clayton Taylor picking up the ball just outside the Jets own box. He ran the left flank and then fed a cross field pass to Ingham who quickly fed the advancing Buhagier. He ran deep and cut back the ball to the galloping Jenkinson. His shot was finger tipped away by Freke. A move that was a joy to see.

Brisbane though had plenty of first half possession and got there break-through in the final breath of the half. Armiento’s corner somehow evaded Taylor on the near post and was bizarrely parried into the net by Newy gloveman Scott. Heartbreaking for the fans, mortifying for Scott.

The second half was end to end with the high point, at least from a Newcastle perspective, was Clayton Taylor volleying home an absolute worldy. With his back to the goal, and outside the box, he juggled the ball, turned and crashed the ball home.

Two minutes later Jets Captain Brandon O’Neill received a yellow card for his second foul of the game. Both similar fouls, that debatably may have not been deliberate.

A further two minutes passed and Roar full-back Zabala hit home from close range, the ball falling to him in space after a defensive scramble. 2-2 and the game in the balance. And then Newcastles low point of the contest, O Neill receiving his second yellow card, for a foul on Majok, in the 75th minute. The referee appeared to delay his decision, possibly waiting for advantage, but a send off it was.

Part of my issue with this was the referee’s inaction on Henry Hoare’s fouls. He had three deliberate fouls in the first half but wasn’t even spoken to. It was only when he’d enacted his fifth foul of game that the cheese arrived. A League officials consistently inconsistent!!

Newcastle defended for the most part bravely, but inevitably, and some might say typically Jets, they conceded in the dying embers of the extra time. The fact that we held out for forty five minutes plus, after previously putting in a high tempo performance game, was valiant. A scrappy goal sent Brisbane through to the Round of 16 and left the Newcastle team and fans thinking what could have been.

Yes we missed the likes of Goodwin and Piscopo, but Buhagier had a good game, young Bayliss put himself about and has bags of potential. Dane Ingham put more telling passes into the box in this game than he’d previously done in the last two seasons. He is 100% a better player in the wide attacking role.

Is Ryan Scott a better goalkeeper than Jack Duncan. The jury is out for mine, but checking social media after the game you’d say that there are a number with a negative view of his performances already. Obviously Weier must still be in the frame, but some fans are asking is Noah James in the picture? He has been performing well in the Reserve Jets NPL team by all accounts. Man of the match though would have to be the returning Lucas Mauragis, brilliant in attack and tenacious in the tackle. Great to see him back in a Jets shirt.

With this defeat most of the Novocastrian faithful will now have to wait until late October to see their team perform again. Bring back the pre season Cup I say.

The Jetstream Podcast Offseason 2023 – Its Been Awhile

Furns (@SquadronNewy) & Matt (@Ego2K) catch up for an chat to talk players, coaches, @TheMatildas and review @AustraliaCup @NewcastleJetsFC vs @BrisbaneRoar #NEWvBRI #NTUA

Newcastle United Jets FC 2 – Brisbane Roar FC 3

Furns is joined by Matt to talk over offseason movements at the club including the coach, players, a loss in the Australia Cup and The Tillys.

The offseason has seen Arthur Papas depart the club to be replaced by Sydney FC assistant coach Rob Stanton. We look back on Arthur’s time in charge and wonder what could have been.

Talk then moved on to players who have left, those who have had contract extensions and players coming in.

We touched on the fantastic support for the Matildas and ask whether this is a turning point for football in Australia or something we have seen before only for football to shoot itself in its collective feet yet again?

We finished off by talking over the loss in Maitland to the Roar at the death in extra time to go out of the round of 32 in the Australia Cup. What did we see from the team, some good passages of play and some deficiencies that cost us in the end.

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Continue reading The Jetstream Podcast Offseason 2023 – Its Been Awhile

Newcastle Jets Up For The Cup

By Simon Kelly

When the Newcastle Jets kicked off their Australia Cup game against Melbourne Victory my plane was just hitting the runway at Sydney Airport. A combination of jet lag and mild technophobia meant that streaming the game on my mobile phone was proving difficult.

Facebook updates kept me happy and when Archie Goodwin had followed up Trent Buhagier’s first half goal I began to relax into the ponderous train journey back to Novocastria, the only drawback (apart from how slow the train is), was travelling through that turdhole Gosford.

Oh how naive was I? Have I not learned anything in the last few years as a diehard Jets fan? Facebook had started to look frantic, but no one was making a definitive comment. I quickly messaged another Jets diehard tragic to find out what was going on. Two goals conceded in injury time!

Inexplicable….no just another average day in the life of a Newcastle Jets supporter. A little more effort and some accurate advice from my messaged mate and I tuned in for some extra time excitement.
We looked the better side and maybe we should have as Victory had
decided to play largely a second string/youth outfit. But you can only play against what’s in front of you.

Trent Buhagier had two guilt edged chances in the passage of extra time, but both efforts were wide of the Victory goals. He’s a player that has frustrated fans in his time in the Hunter. A great athlete who seems to need numerous chances to score a goal. The rumour mill currently has him heading to the Indian Premier League, but I can confirm he was at Jets training on my brief visit last week.

The penalty shootout, true to form was a nail biter. Would our team have it any other way? Goodwin and Folami both converted their respective pens.

Daniel Stynes shot was saved by Victory keeper Ahmad Teleb. William Wilson, who’d previously converted from the penalty spot to take the game into extra time, had his shot saved by newly signed goalkeeper Ryan Scott.

Callum Timmins scored, just and Nishan Velupillay did likewise for Victory. Carl Jenkinson hammered his pen home but Jordi Valadon missed the goal completely. Centre back Phil Cancar cooly converted his dot shot to deservedly send Newcastle into the Round of 32.

There are a couple of noteworthy points worth considering with this penalty shootout. Firstly massive credit must go to Daniel Stynes for stepping up in this shootout. I got the impression that he was trying to redeem himself. He played a part in both the Victory goals. Losing the ball cheaply for the first and a weak wayward header back towards the Newy goal for the second..

Yes keeper Scott was the guilty party in conceding the penalty, but the ball shouldn’t have been put there in the first place. A lesser player would have stood back and called it a night. It wasn’t the worst taken penalty (even on the night), on target, but a little too tame. I’m sure his minutes on the field and that penalty were a massive learning curve for the 24 year old midfielder.

Secondly the way the other Jets players got around Stynes at the conclusion of the game spoke volumes. This team is definitely in it together, as they should be, but from a fans perspective that kind of camaraderie is what is required and fantastic to see.

Although the current football media chatter is mainly  Matildas/Womens World Cup, and rightly so, it’s still possible to find some A League related articles and comment. Even though the season is two and a half months away some pundits are keen to stick the boot in and predict a wooden spoon for the Newcastle Jets club and for new coach Rob Stanton to be the first A League coach to be shown the door.

I doubt either will occur, but it just goes to show how quickly some will write others off. The underdog tag is one that the Hunter Valley faithful will relish.

If there is a slight concern for some fans then it maybe the lack of player recruitment. Stantons first interview a month ago alluded to bringing in a striker, centre mid and a central defender. Apostolos Stamatelpoulos (striker) was announced a few days after this interview.

As recently as last week the rumour mill kicked into gear with speculation of a Spanish centre back, 31 year old Victor Adeva, signing for Newy. This has fizzled to nothing. That said we have signed Jacob Dowse, Daniel Wilmering, Lachlan Bayliss, Clayton
Taylor and Lucas Mauragis has thankfully returned to the fold.

Our budget is low and with our benefactors (WSW, Western United, Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix) patience seemingly wearing thin, it’s worrying to say the least. Arthur Papas’s reference to ownership “that’s the biggest signing we can make”, is still ringing in fans ears.

Back to the football on the field though and Monday 14th August will see Newcastle take on the Brisbane Roar in Maitland for the Round of 32, Australia Cup. Archie Goodwin will be sidelined due to his re-occurring back complaint. Hopefully this will be our only missing player. It will be a good opportunity for local fans to see the team up close. Progress in the Cup will help drive interest too. Extra time and a penalty shoot out is not preferred either!