Melbourne stutters against red hot Jets

[DRXX]

Melbourne stutters against red hot Jets
Friday, 19 January, 2007 - 11:21PM
Melbourne Victory slumped to its worst ever defeat in the Hyundai A-League with a 4-0 loss to the Newcastle Jets in front of 19,601 at EnergyAustralia Stadium this evening.

The win sees the Jets cement its position in the 2007 Finals Series, and leaves both Queensland Roar and Sydney FC sweating on the result of tomorrow night’s match at Suncorp Stadium, if they are to see finals action.

The win sparked scenes of hysteria in Newcastle, with players throwing their shirts into the crowd and the fans chanting long and hard, well after the final whistle.

Newcastle started strongly, with Joel Griffiths coming close to scoring as early as the fifth minute with a powerful shot which was well saved by Michael Theoklitos in the Melbourne goal. The home team almost scored from the resultant corner, with Tim Brown forcing another great save from the Victory custodian.

Melbourne crept back into the match, first through a Danny Allsopp intercept which gave him a sight of goal, only to be let down by a poor first touch. Moments later, Thompson wiggled into the Melbourne box to draw a corner, which was eventually cleared by the Newcastle defence.

Both teams continued to try and wrest control of the game, with Kevin Muscat inches away from opening the scoring on 33 minutes, launching a volley from inside the penalty area after a Vince Lia cross which sailed just wide of the upright.

That miss was punished severely by Newcastle only two minutes later, after Rodrigo Vargas completely misjudged a seemingly harmless backpass by Allsopp. The loose ball fell to the feet of Mark Bridge who slammed home his seventh goal of the season.

The crowd had barely time to draw breath before Muscat launched a rocket from the half way line which was goal bound, until Ante Covic stuck out a big hand to force the ball away from goal.

Melbourne continued to try and force its way back into the contest, and Thompson almost got the visitors back on level terms after a mazy run into the box opened up a chance to shoot, but the Qantas Socceroo was left distraught as his strike deflected off the upright for a goal kick.

Newcastle virtually sealed the points soon after the restart with two goals in quick succession.

Melbourne again gifted Bridge a goal after Lia tripped over the ball in defence, with the loose ball again falling to the feet of Bridge, who punished Melbourne in almost identical fashion to the first in the 48th minute

The match was as good as over in the 52nd minute as Vaughn Coveny slid into the box to get on the end of a Nick Carle through ball to make it 3-0.

With the visitors unable to find a goal, Newcastle capped a memorable night with a goal to Griffiths in the 74th minute.

The match ended in controversy for Melbourne Muscat, who attempted to substitute himself in the 82nd minute to guard against a second yellow card, amid protests from his bench who feared he might receive a yellow card for leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission. Kristian Sarkies eventually came on to replace the Victory captain.

Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick, said that his side deserved any criticism by the press after the result, but requested that his side not be judged on a match which meant nothing to the visitors and everything to the home side.

“It was a game that we had nothing to play for, and the opposition had everything to play for,” Merrick said. “Don’t judge us on the basis of a match which counted for nothing. We’ve delivered all year when there’s been something to play for and we’ll certainly deliver in the finals.”

“Tonight we were without regular defenders Steve Pantelidis and Simon Storey, but that’s not making excuses. That’s just stating things as a coach.

“We’ve managed to win the league by a record margin, breaking all sorts of records all season, only to be beaten for the first time away from home by a side which had everything to play for. Full credit to Newcastle.”

Melbourne will await other results over the weekend before learning the identity of their Semi Final opponent next week.

Newcastle Jets 4 (Bridge 36', 48', Coveny 51', Griffiths 73')
Melbourne Victory 0

Referee: Matthew Breeze
Crowd: 19,601 at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle

As a Melbourne Victory supporter, I got to say that this is very embarrassing and I really didn't like this match..man..it could have been 2-0..but man..4-0...Jeez

[juanpabloangel]

never change a winning team... thats what Merrick did.... hope victory win the play off so the final is in Melbourne. better for football

[DRXX]

They will play.

Melbourne will be the ones who are gonna win this year. I hope they do, unless Sydney somehow stops it