Central Coast Mariners 0 Newcastle Jets 1 (Hoffman 53’)
Match INsight:
The Central Coast Mariners have fallen narrowly to the Newcastle Jets in a 1-0 defeat despite an array of chances created by the Yellow & Navy.
The opening 20 minutes of play saw some half chances at either end but the Mariners caused majority of the danger, which kicked off in the fifth minute through Roy O’Donovan. The Irishman found himself with a one-on-one opportunity from close range but his strike bounced back off the post.
An unlikely goal threat in Jake McGing was the next Mariner to push forward and trouble the Jets defence after flicking a Fabio Ferreira cross just wide of the upright in the 17th minute.
Ferreira and O’Donovan were the danger men in the first stanza who pushed into the Jets’ box on multiple occasions after linking with Anthony Caceres as well as Josh Rose on the opposite wing. The Mariners’ two foreigners created plenty of headaches but some impressive saves from Mark Birighitti as well as the woodwork sent the teams into the first half scoreless.
After a dominant first fifty minutes of play by the Mariners, it was a set piece that broke the deadlock in favour of the Newcastle Jets. A loopy corner saw Jason Hoffman steer a header into Paul Izzo’s bottom corner.
Through out the second half the Mariners continued to pressure the Jets back four and Izzo also made some sharp saves at the other end to keep the Central Coast in the hunt for an equaliser.
The crowd left their seats in the 89th minute thanks to Jake Adelson who brought his X-Factor onto the pitch with 10 minutes to go. A precision cross found its way onto the head of Adelson who lunged at the ball with venom, only to be denied by a strong Birighitti right glove.
Full attention now turns to next Saturday’s pre-season hit out against Brisbane Roar on the Sunshine Coast.
Special thanks to Orange City Council for hosting us in NSW’s Central West this past week and to Newcastle Permanent who were our Match Day Sponsor.
GOAL:
53’ HOFFMAN HEADER: The Newcastle Jets broke the deadlock from a set piece as Jason Hoffman leapt above the pack to head home neatly in the bottom corner.
Walmsley’s words:
“We conceded a goal off a set piece and we coughed up a couple of chances because we were obviously chasing the game and trying to be inventive and proactive.”
“The first half we were dominant, hit the post, created numerous opportunities to get in behind them and just couldn’t score. With two weeks out, not bad but there’s work to do.”
“The pitch is what it is, you’ve got to get on and do it. It was nothing major, the slowness of the pitch after the rain stopped us from moving the ball as quickly as we would have liked.”
“We came here to be inventive and score goals, we couldn’t really get going but you could see the intent was there and Newcastle did what they came here to do which was grind out a result and they ground out a 1-0 result, scored off a set piece so good luck to them.”
“We play Brisbane Roar next week on the Sunshine Coast which is another opportunity for players to get out there and put themselves in the frame for the first game.”
“We didn’t execute well at all today and the players will be very hard on themselves, they know what they’ve got to do. We finished the game with five up front and three defenders so we’re desperate to score goals, it didn’t happen but it will happen.”
“We’ve been here since Wednesday and it’s great to see so many people out here, the guys are out there signing autographs, we’ve been engaging with the community, we’re a community club and this is what we do.
“We would definitely come back [to Orange], I’m sure there’s more opportunities down the track for matches in the Central West, we’ve enjoyed it, we’re really grateful to Orange City Council for having us.”
Central Coast Mariners: Paul IZZO (GK), Storm ROUX, Josh ROSE, (Mitch AUSTIN 69’) Jacob POSCOLIERO (Jake ADELSON 79’), Fabio FERREIRA (Josh BINGHAM 69’), Roy O’DONOVAN, Anthony CACERES, Nick FITZGERALD, Mickey NEILL, Jake McGING, Eddy BOSNAR (c)
Unused substitutes: Liam REDDY (GK), Daniel HEFFERNAN
Newcastle Jets: Mark BIRIGHITTI, Daniel MULLEN, Jason HOFFMAN, Nigel BOOGAARD (c), Ben KANTAROVSKI (Cameron WATSON 45’), Enver ALIVODIC (Brandon LUNDY 86’), Mateo POLJAK, Leonardo SANTIAGO (Mitch COOPER 45’), Labinot HALITI, Lee KI-JE, David CARNEY
Unused substitutes: Radovan PAVICEVIC, Lachlan JACKSON, Ben KENNEDY (GK)
Central Coast Mariners 0
Newcastle Jets 1 (Hoffman 53’)
Venue: Wade Park, Orange, New South Wales
Referee: Matthew Cropper
Attendance: 2,142
