01-07-2007, 07:02 PM
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Jets roar into four
Friday, 5 January, 2007 - 10:06PM
Dom Brock, Sportal
The Mariners' Mile Jedinak (right) and Paul Kohler
The Mariners' Mile Jedinak (right) and Paul Kohler
The Newcastle Jets have broken into the top four after clinching a priceless 1-0 win over local rivals the Central Coast Mariners at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
A Milton Rodriguez goal midway through the first half was enough for the hosts, who took the points after repeatedly holding out the rampant visitors in the second half.
The win puts Newcastle into fourth position on the Hyundai A-League ladder and in the box seat in the race for a semi-final berth with two regular season games remaining.
The local rivals went into the game equal on 23 points with an identical win-loss record, and the Central Coast now faces a huge task to grab a finals place after slipping to sixth place.
Jets coach Gary Van Egmond was pleased his side showed they can grind out wins as well as play entertaining football.
"I was glad to get the win, not only for the three points, but also for the momentum we get with it," he said.
"We showed that we can grind a result out.
"If we have to grind out results like we did today it's nice to know the boys can do it."
Van Egmond's opposite number Lawrie McKinna was again ruing the lack of a proven goalscorer.
"I can't complain about the effort, can't complaing about the way we played, we just lacked the killer punch," he said.
The Mariners threatened Newcastle's goalmouth in the early stages, with Noel Spencer sending a low drive into the arms of Jets' goalkeeper Ante Covic in the third minute before Stewart Petrie sent a shot over the crossbar moments later.
At the other end Rodriguez looked set to win the race to a searching long ball before being held back by Wayne O'Sullivan. Despite calls for a send-off from home supporters, the Mariners' defender was shown a yellow card and Rodriguez thumped the resultant free kick just wide of goal.
Joel Griffiths also went close for the hosts, finding his way into the box before swinging a shot to the left.
The action kept coming, with Central Coast's Adam Kwasnik blasting high and Damien Brown forcing an excellent save from Covic.
The Jets grabbed the opener on the counter-attack, breaking from well within their half with Nick Carle sending a through ball down the right to Mark Bridge, who in turn sent the unmarked Rodriguez clear to hammer home a simple finish.
The visitors came close to equalising when Michael Jedinak crashed a header towards the net from a Brown cross, but another stunner from Covic kept Newcastle's lead intact.
Bridge then linked up beautifully with Steve Eagleton to set up a shot on the six-yard box, but his mistimed strike sailed harmlessly wide as the hosts settled for a 1-0 half-time lead.
The Mariners came out firing after the break and Covic had his work cut out for him, parrying away well-struck shots from Spencer and Matthew Osman and recovering well after spilling the ball into the path of the swooping Petrie.
Newcastle's defence had to scramble to keep the visitors scoreless, as Petrie went close with a curling strike from the edge of the area and Brown headed over the bar from a corner.
The Jets showed plenty of class on their rare attacking raids in the second term, with Carle and substitute Vaughan Coveny putting some slick passes together, but it was the back four that continued to keep the hosts in the game.
Covic was the difference in the end, saving a point-blank header from Petrie in the 90th minute to give his side the three points.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Rodriguez 25)
Central Coast Mariners 0
Crowd: 14,828 at EnergyAustralia Stadium
| Credit - A-League.com.au |
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