An early second half strike to Ryan Griffiths was the difference as Brisbane Roar suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
An early second half strike to Ryan Griffiths was the difference as Brisbane Roar suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
Brisbane made two changes to the side that lost to Melbourne Heart last week with James Donachie slotting back into the starting eleven after a one-week suspension and Head Coach Mike Mulvey opting to play Nick Fitzgerald on the left up front.
The Jets defence sat high in the opening stanza, stifling the Roar attack, while the away side had to rely on a fingertip save from goalkeeper Michael Theo to keep them in the game after twenty minutes when Newcastle youngster Craig Goodwin pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the area.
The Brisbane custodian, playing his 150th Hyundai A-League match, redeemed himself for an earlier piece of uncharacteristic, unsteady defending as he almost allows Ryan Griffiths the chance to shoot at goal when receiving the ball from skipper Matt Smith.
The Novocastrians started the second half stronger and found the back of the net after just three minutes, James Brown playing a cheeky back heel through to Griffiths who beat the run of the Roar defenders to find the space to slide the ball into the back of the net.
Mulvey introduced Massimo Murdocca just after the hour mark and attacking midfielder James Meyer not long after but it was Besart Berisha who had the best chance of scoring late in the half when a cross from Ben Halloran fell the wrong side of his oncoming run.
Two late corners made for some nervy moments for the Jets as they tried to defend their slim lead but Newcastle managed to hold on for a win that condemns the Roar to eighth place on the competition ladder.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Ryan GRIFFITHS 48-)
Brisbane Roar 0
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-off:7.45pm local time
Referee: Strebre Delovski
Crowd: 10,164
Newcastle Jets: 7. James BROWN (22. Adam TAGGART 82-), 8. Ruben ZADKOVICH (c), 11. Connor CHAPMAN, 12. Joshua BRILLANTE (16. Jobe WHEELHOUSE 73-), 13. Samuel GALLAWAY, 14. Taylor REGAN, 15. Craig GOODWIN (19. Michael BRIDGES 78-), 17. James VIRGILI, Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 23. Ryan GRIFFITHS, 26 Andrew HOOLE
Substitutes not used: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk)
Yellow cards: Taylor REGAN 1-, Ryan GRIFFITHS 45+1-, James VIRGILI 56′
Red cards: Nil
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEO (gk), 2. Matt SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU (8. Massimo MURDOCCA 66-), 7. Besart BERISHA, 11. Ben HALLORAN, 15. James DONACHIE, 17. Mitchell NICHOLS, 22. Thomas BROICH, 24. Nick FITZGERALD (21. James MEYER 71-)
Substitutes not used: 4. Matthew JURMAN, 20. Matthew ACTON (gk),
Yellow cards: Nick FITZGERALD 25-
Red cards: Nil
