The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
21Nov21 | 27Nov21 | 03Dec21 | 10Dec21 | 19Dec21 | 01Jan22 | 21Jan22 | 06Feb22 | 09Feb22 | 12Feb22 | 16Feb22 | 19Feb22 | 09Mar22 | 12Mar22 | 18Mar22 | 26Mar22 | 30Mar22 | 02Apr22 | 05Apr22 | 09Apr22 | 13Apr22 | 17Apr22 | 24Apr22 | 29Apr22 | 05May22 | 09May22 | 14May22
10Dec21
Newcastle To The Four As Wellington Walloped
by Jeremy Ruane
Newcastle Jets handed Wellington Phoenix a 4-0 hiding at McDonald Jones Stadium on 10 December, delighting the 6,332 fans in attendance as they witnessed a richly deserved yet rare emphatic victory for the home team.
Arthur Papastamatis' charges were swiftly into their stride in this match, Beka Mikeltadze testing Oliver Sail with a twenty-yarder just three minutes into the contest. The striker then worked an opening on the right with Olivier Boumal via a one-two, the Frenchman lashing his rising drive narrowly over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.
Wellington responded via Reno Piscopo, his twenty-five yarder being gobbled up by Jack Duncan following a delightful interchange of passes featuring Clayton Lewis, David Ball and Gary Hooper.
It proved to be a rare raid by the visitors, because the home team had the bit between their teeth and fancied an early goal. Valentino Yuel's reflex flick redirected a Matt Jurman header, which was going wide, into the grateful gloves of Sail on the quarter hour.
Five minutes later, another effort from Mikeltadze was grabbed by Sail at the second attempt, while the 'keeper was relieved to see Angus Thurgate to latch onto a low cross from Yuel in the 22nd minute, the ball fizzing across the face of goal to safety.
After Joshua Laws had blocked another attempt by Mikeltadze to break the deadlock on the half-hour, the goal Newcastle's enterprise fully merited materialised sixty seconds later, due reward for a scintillating move.
Thurgate made a darting run across the top of the penalty area before spreading play wide to Jason Hoffman. He returned the favour, allowing Thurgate to slip a pass into the stride of the overlapping Boumal, whose low cross was swept home at the near post by Mikeltadze - 1-0.
Five minutes before half-time, they should have doubled their advantage. Daniel Penha worked an opening at the top of the box, the shot resulting from which proved too hot for Sail to handle. Yuel, following in, found himself with the goal at his mercy, somehow contrived to direct his attempt high, wide and far from handsomely over the target - a great chance, but would this miss prove costly?
Thankfully for Newcastle, no, because they were on the front foot from the start of the second spell, too. Jordan Elsey directed a header narrowly past the far post after being picked out by Jordan O'Doherty's measured free-kick five minutes into the half, while sixty seconds later, the home team was celebrating again via a quite superb goal.
Penha, Thurgate and O'Doherty combined neatly to play the ball in to Mikeltadze, whose round-the-corner pass played Yuel in on goal. He evaded a challenge but lost control of the ball, only for
|
Mikeltadze to swoop and stab home from close range past the stranded figure of Sail, who was far from pleased with the efforts of those in front of him.
In response, Wellington mounted a rare raid just before the hour mark, Ball directing a twenty-yarder at the largely unoccupied figure of Duncan after half-time substitute Jaushua Sotirio led a left flank raid.
Normal service soon resumed, however, Penha beating Sail all ends up with a brilliant dipping effort which deserved better fate than to hit the crossbar in the 62nd minute. The Brazilian was instrumental in Newcastle's third goal seven minutes later, working a one-two with Mikeltadze before slipping in Dylan Murnane, who gleefully tucked home from eight yards - 3-0.
That goal effectively ended the contest - there was no way Wellington was going to come back from this, even if they deserved to, which they certainly didn't. This was their worst display for some time, and they got the towelling their performance fully merited.
Newcastle further increased their advantage eleven minutes from time, and it was fitting that Penha found the target - he had a fabulous game. Substitute Riley Warland spread play wide to fellow newcomer Samuel Silvera, who brought Mikeltadze into play once more.
Displaying excellent technique in the targetman role, he held the ball up well before directing it into the stride of Penha, who fair battered the ball home from twelve yards to add an emphatic exclamation mark to the scoreline.
The home team could have had at least one more goal, with Sail denying Silvera three minutes from time, while at the other end of the park, both Laws and Nicholas Pennington went close to reducing the deficit in stoppage time, after Alex Rufer had let rip with a twenty-yarder which didn't miss by much.
The visitors didn't deserve a goal, to be blunt - "lucky to get nil" seems an apt summation of their performance! Coach Ufuk Talay will be hoping that after narrowly squeaking past Western United in the FFA Cup in midweek - Ben Waine's 35th minute header separated the sides, his team produces a more convincing display against non-league Avondale on Tuesday as they bid to make the quarter-finals for the first time ever.
Newcastle: Duncan; Hoffman (Ingham, 68), Elsey, Jurman, Murnane (Warland, 75); Thurgate (booked, 45) (Grozos, 86), O'Doherty (Al-Taay, 86); Boumal, Penha, Yuel (Silvera, 75); Mikeltadze
Wellington: Sail; Elliot (booked, 49), Payne, Laws, McGarry (Sutton, 74); Old (Sotirio, 46), Rufer, Lewis (booked, 45) (Pennington, 74), Piscopo (Waine, 53); Hooper (booked, 90), Ball (booked, 79)
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
|