Newcastle Jets earned bragging rights against Melbourne Victory on Sunday afternoon, after defeating their hosts 1-2 in the curtain raiser to the A-League’s 1000th game at AAMI Park.
Goals from Joey Gibbs and James Virgili were enough to clinch three points for the visitors, as they completed an impressive fight back after Francesco Stella’s opener.
Both sides took some time to find their early rhythm, with Newcastle having more of the possession without really hurting Victory.
Gibbs had the first real chance of the match, trying to catch Keegan Coulter off his line but the shot ended wide of the post.
Stella then put the hosts ahead on 14 minutes through a deflected long range effort after a Victory counter-attack.
The ex-Rangers forward almost scored again a couple of minutes later but his effort deflected onto the post.
It was Victory’s best move in the first half, as Jordan Brown played a fantastic ball in behind the Jets defence for Proia who in turn laying it off for Stella to dribbled his way past a couple of defenders and take the shot.
That was as good as it got for Victory, as the Jets then began to take a strong hold on the game.
Having been in great form in the last few weeks, Virgili started to show his best, his cross on 35 minutes finding the head of Joey Gibbs for the Jets’ equaliser.
He then broke the offside trap five minutes later to put the visitors ahead with a great run through the middle of the pitch.
After catching the Victory defence flat footed, the Jets starlet rounded Coulter for an easy finish to adding to his already impressive tally of goals this season.
Victory came out stronger after the break as they looked to get back on level terms, but it was a half to end without reward as they spurned chances to score throughout the 45 minutes.
Stella had a shot that whistled over the bar three minutes in, while Cristaldo had an effort from the tip of the 18 yard box saved well by John Solari soon after.
Anthony Proia almost got his name on the scoresheet when he made the most of a rebound off his own shot, but his good work went unrewarded as Solari pulled off yet another save.
Following the regular raft of substitutions at half time, the Jets managed to have a good spell, wherein Mitch Cooper had a shot just dip over the bar, while Mitchell Oxborrow was unable to convert a cross from Cooper later on.
Jets then had a golden chance to grab a third, but Kale Bradbery somehow missed a tap in from within the six yard box.
Virgili had done all the hard work to get into a good crossing position, but he would have been disappointed at his teammate’s shocking miss.
Victory ended the match the better side, unable to find a clear opening, and succumbed to their third successive loss.
Team Lineups:
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Substitutes:
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Substitutions:
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Scorers:
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