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24Jan21
Newcastle Stun Wellington To Climb Off Bottom
by Jeremy Ruane
Newcastle Jets stunned Wellington Phoenix 2-1 in front of 174 2 fans at WIN Stadium on January 24 to climb off the bottom of the Hyundai A-League table, leaving the beaten side with just one team below them on the standings.
What was a lively encounter throughout proceedings enjoyed a contentious start when Wellington were denied a fourth minute penalty, referee Alex King instead awarding Newcastle a free-kick, Tomer Hemed having grabbed the ball instinctively upon going down, convinced that Nigel Boogaard had clipped him from behind with the striker having just Jack Duncan to beat upon receipt of Ulises Davila's clipped pass.
Wellington coach Ufuk Talay was furious with the decision, and remained in a foul mood for the rest of the match, his profanities clearly audible on the pitch-side sound guns.
Perhaps a PGR (Parental Guidance Recommended) tag should be applied to Wellington's televised A-League fixtures in future if Talay's default response to decisions going against his side sees him resorting to the language of the gutter! There really is no need for it …
Two fine pieces of defending by Johnny Koutroumbis ensured the Israeli wouldn't profit from deliveries from Jaushua Sotirio and Tim Payne in the next few minutes, before the visitors hit Wellington on the counter-attack with a fine opening goal.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley picked out Roy O'Donovan in the centre circle, where he expertly turned Luke DeVere before threading a scrumptious pass through the inside right channel into the stride of Valentino Yuel, who hit it on the run past the advancing figure of Stefan Marinovic and in off the base of the far post in the ninth minute.
Within five minutes, Wellington had twice been denied an equalising goal. A twelfth minute corner from Davila picked out the head of DeVere rising high on the edge of the goal area, from where he executed a thumping downward header which looked in for all money except for one thing - a fantastic reflex save from Duncan, who plunged to his right to turn the ball to safety.
The 'keeper was beaten two minutes later, however, but was relieved to see his left-hand post save the day for Newcastle after Davila hammered a twenty-yarder at the target after pouncing on a poor clearance.
Wellington were dominating possession, but Newcastle were hitting them on the counter-attack when they managed to get hold of the ball, one such occasion coming in the nineteenth minute.
Jason Hoffman won it and played it to Koutroumbis, who pinged a fine cross-field ball to Connor O'Toole on the left flank. The wing-back's teasing cross was enticing for both O'Donovan and Yuel, but Joshua Laws timed his intervention to perfection to prevent Wellington from falling further behind.
The Kiwi side bossed the game for the next ten minutes, but in that time mustered just two efforts of note, a David Ball drive which Duncan fisted clear at his near post, and a Cameron Devlin twenty-five yarder which was bound for the top corner until the goalkeeper plucked it from the sky with aplomb aplenty.
Back came Newcastle, Topor-Stanley and Ramy Najjarine linking with O'Toole, whose teasing cross found O'Donovan flying in to meet it, only to deftly flick the ball first time across the face of goal.
Wellington responded instantly, Sotirio leading the charge with Hemed and Davila either side of him. A pass to either may have been more rewarding, but the striker had eyes only for goal, and his twenty yard drive sizzled over the bar.
Newcastle retorted with a lovely move which started from virtually their own dead-ball line. Topor-Stanley, Boogaard and O'Toole all had a hand in proceedings until Angus Thurgate spread the ball across the park to Hoffman, ranging up on the right.
The wing-back looked to pick out O'Donovan's head, but DeVere rose to head the ball out for a corner, from which O'Toole's delivery was headed narrowly past the far post by Boogaard, who, along with fellow central defenders Topor-Stanley and Koutroumbis, and goalkeeper Duncan, was in outstanding form throughout for Newcastle.
The last-mentioned was called upon to keep out a James McGarry cross-shot at his near post before the half-time whistle, while within a minute of the resumption of play, both teams hit the side-netting, O'Donovan within ten seconds of the kick-off for the visitors, McGarry responding in kind after scything in off the left before letting rip from
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twenty yards 45 seconds later.
Wellington went desperately close to levelling the scores in the 48th minute. Davila sent Payne careering down the right, from where his cross was scrambled out for a corner by Boogaard.
Davila's delivery was precision personified, and was met perfectly by Ball, who darted across two defenders to meet the sphere with a splendidly directed header across goal, only for the sphere to strike the inside of the far post and rebound into the goalmouth, where the incoming figure of Sotirio was unable to direct it home.
When things like that happen, you start to wonder if you're fated not to win the game. Within three minutes, Wellington's prospects of doing so nose-dived, as Newcastle doubled their lead.
It was another counter-attacking goal executed with brilliant precision. Yuel won the race with Devlin for a loose ball, the youngster then turning inside to play it into the stride of Ugarkovic.
The midfielder threaded a super pass through the inside left channel which rewarded O'Donovan's angled run across the defence and left him through on goal with only the advancing figure of Marinovic to beat, something the Irishman did in fine style as he netted his 50th A-League goal in 108 games.
More importantly, he gave Newcastle a 2-0 lead six minutes into the second half, a deficit Wellington was destined not to overhaul, despite their best efforts to cut into it.
Duncan brilliantly tipped a Hemed header - from a Payne cross - over the bar in the 53rd minute, before executing a diving save to deny Sautirio, and looking on with relief as a low angled drive from Payne fizzed narrowly past the far post in the 64th minute.
Seconds later, Sautirio turned Topor-Stanley inside out before picking out Davila with a cross which the Mexican controlled magnificently, despite the ball being behind him, only to fire his shot on the turn past the post.
Hemed's last act of the match before being withdrawn from the fray saw Duncan deny him once more, while in the 71st minute, DeVere's weak header gifted possession to Newcastle substitute Kosta Petratos, who swiftly brought O'Donovan into play. The striker sent his effort soaring over the bar.
Wellington substitute Mirza Muratovic was only a stride away from turning home Payne's 74th minute cross after starting a move which also featured Davila, to which Newcastle responded by spurning a glorious chance to put the result beyond doubt three minutes later.
Petratos and Ugarkovic worked a one-two in the centre of the park before the substitute sent Yuel scooting through the inside left channel with just Marinovic to beat. The youngster opened himself up to bend his shot round the 'keeper, but got his angles all wrong and was well wide of the mark with his execution.
Wellington's goalkeeper produced a superb save to prevent Boogaard from scoring with a bicycle kick from six yards in the 79th minute, after headers from Topor-Stanley and Yuel had come about following Ugarkovic's initial cross.
That gave Wellington incentive aplenty to pile on the pressure in search of a late goal, and within five minutes, they were presented with the chance to do so from the penalty spot, after Devlin was felled from behind by substitute Blake Archbold's clumsy challenge.
Davila did the honours from twelve yards, sending Duncan the wrong way to make it 2-1 and set up a grandstand finish, to which substitutes Muratovic and Ben Waine both contributed with close calls upon receipt of fine deliveries from McGarry and Clayton Lewis - a surprise selection as substitute after his impressive display in Wellington's last match, one from which they earned a point.
They weren't able to repeat that feat on this occasion, however, Newcastle's 2-1 triumph owing much to a combination of great goalkeeping, fine defending and, with two Wellington efforts staying out thanks to the woodwork, dear old Lady Luck!
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne (Fenton, 83 (booked, 88)), DeVere, Laws, McGarry; Davila, Ridenton (Lewis, 52), Devlin, Ball; Sautirio (Muratovic, 70), Hemed (Waine, 70)
Newcastle: Duncan; Koutroumbis, Boogaard, Topor-Stanley; Hoffman, Ugarkovic, Najjarine (K. Petratos, 59), Thurgate (booked, 28), O'Toole; O'Donovan (Archbold, 72), Yuel (booked, 69 (Yengi, 90))
Referee: Alex King
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