Newcastle Jets 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers:
In a match where clear-cut chances came few and far between, the Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers have played out a 1-1 draw in front of 11,019 fans at the Hunter Stadium.
After a non-eventful opening 20 minutes the first real opportunity came by way of the visitors. Ben Kennedy’s inability to clear the ball out saw Tomi Juric retrieve possession and lay it off to his oncoming teammate Matthew Spiranovic who then, to almost everyone’s disbelief, sliced the ball wide of the goal.
Irrespective of the negative atmosphere that continues to surround the club as of late, the Jets have improved vastly in comparison to what they have previously produced this season. But yet despite holding the majority of possession they remained unable to penetrate the Western Sydney defence.
As the match went on the visitors began to feel their way into the contest. And on 35 minutes the Wanderers thought they had taken control. Nikita Rukavytsya’s cross saw the nod-on from Juric fall to the feet of former Jet Labinot Haliti. With the flag up well before the aforementioned was able to curl the ball home it seemed as if Tony Popovic’s men had been hard done by. However the following replays showed the linesman’s decision was a correct one.
Minutes later, Topor-Stanley’s pass to Tomi Juric out from the defence allowed the latter to turn his opposing man Taylor Regan and send him through on goal. But with only the goalkeeper to beat, the Socceroo’s touch took him wide allowing the following shot to be nothing more than a routine stop from Ben Kennedy.
Newcastle were unfortunate to not have gone ahead soon after the second half’s resumption as Taylor Regan headed the ball over. With the initial corner whipped in with a decent combination of bend and pace the unmarked Regan should have done better. Had the Jets captain directed his effort a couple of inches lower then perhaps the home side would have taken advantage.
Ironically, it was Rukavytsya’s turn to fluff a crucial chance just on the stroke of the hour mark. After being played in through on goal and showing impressive pace to take a touch past the onrushing Kennedy, the Ukranian-born Socceroo’s finish flashed well wide much to the disappointment of the travelling Wanderers fans.
Mere moments later and newly substituted Nick Kalmar came close to breaking the deadlock. After Rukavytsya’s cut-back met the feet of the former-Heart foundation player, Taylor Regan’s diving lunge was enough to divert Kalmar’s effort from goal.
Despite enjoying the majority of chances on offer in the match the Wanderers still looked unable to find the breakthrough. Phil Stubbins’ side opted to revert to a counter-attacking style of play in the second half and, despite looking decent in transition, still lacked any sort of threat themselves.
The match took a vital turn at the 85th minute as former Wanderer Daniel Mullen appeared to have handled the ball inside the box. Antony Golec’s cross swung in at an awkward height for the central defender and unfortunately for the Jets they suffered the worst outcome of it as Brendon Santalab made no mistake from the spot.
However with only two minutes of stoppage time remaining the home side were able to get a penalty of their own. A powerful shot from Nick Cowburn appeared to have struck the arm of Antony Golec and left referee Lucien Laverdure with no choice but to award the penalty. And with much joy and satisfaction from the home supporters Newcastle debutant Lee Ki-Je, who performed excellently for the duration of the 90, clinically dispatched his take.
In the end it was a true tale of the bottom two clubs and despite all that transpired, perhaps a draw seemed the fair result.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Ki-Je 90+3′) Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Santalab 86′)
Attendance: 11,019
FTS Man of the Match: Lee Ki-Je
Image: Four Four Two Australia
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