Welcome to this Newcastle Jets football blog - I hope this will be a place where Newcastle fans and others can pull apart issues about the Jets including performances, playing style, formations and the ins and outs of the players and the playing roster. Share your opinions in the comments section below and speculate in the run up to the Asian Cup which ex Newcastle Jets players might make their way to the Asian Cup or the future World Cup squads, if Australia qualifies again.
The first game of the season has come and gone and while it wasn't a win, it was encouraging, and a draw was pretty respectable. Hindmarsh Stadium can be a bugger of a place to go and Adelaide can be a strong defensive unit.
The Jets played attractive football, dominated possession and could have easily come away with a win. The first game of the season is under their belt, some cobwebs have been blown away and we can expect improved performances in the weeks to come.
Branko started with a 4-3-3 formation which looked to me more like a 4-2-3-1 with Michael Bridges playing in the middle behind Sean Rooney, and linking Ben Kantarovski and Casey Wehrman behind. However, at times it looked like they switched to three across the back, allowing Adam D'Appuzzo to advance down the left with marauding runs, one of which drew a leaping save to the left from Eugene Galekovich.
The passing from the Jets took some time to get going but when it did it was a pleasure to watch. Around the 19th minute, I counted a play of nine passes, many of those one-touch before someone (Topor-Stanley?) launched it longer.
The Jets played a high pressing game for the most part, never allowing Adelaide to get into any rhythm. Adelaide rarely threatened and while they had a few shots and some good chances midway through the first half, you never really got the feeling that they would score.
Unfortunately, the same was probably true of the Jets who looked dangerous in midfield, and at times in the final third but they just couldn't break Adelaide's defensive lines. You just get the feeling that if they can build on the passing play they will begin cutting through defenses easily. Their fluidity in counter-attack will also improve and I believe challenge Melbourne on that front.
As for individual performances, I didn't see anything woeful or worth being troubled about. The new recruits performed very respectably, Ruben Zadkovich playing a high energy game up and down the right flank. He will be a strong competitor for Tarek's position. Kasey Wehrman controlled the midfield and Marko Jesic performed very well in his return to the first XI. It was hard to see Jeremy Brockie's performance given he didn't have a lot of time on the pitch.
Ben Kantarovski goes from strength to strength, and was the instigator of that lovely piece of play in the 19th minute when it took the ball from the Jets half, flicked it to Bridges who then laid off a sneaky pass to D'Appuzzo, catching the Adelaide defence off-guard. D'Appuzzo's shot was saved by Galekovich but if he had placed it elsewhere, the keeper would have been beaten.
Ben Kennedy had a respectable first match and didn't make any mistakes, even though he wasn't called upon too many times. That should steady his nerves. He has also ditched the previous haircut in favour of a hippy lovechild cut. Interesting. And on haircuts, when Jobe Wheelhouse came on, I was wondering whether the Jets had taken on some Cherokee or Apache team spirit to frighten away the oppostion. I counted five players on the pitch with mohawks or shaved heads! Scary!
In summary, across this game and others over the weekend, I noticed more sophistication in the play of many of the teams and was pretty pleased by the crowds in many of the matches. Those boys out there have been watching the skill on show in the World Cup and you sense they want to bring it home. Early signs point to a great season with improved quality and tactical awareness. I hope I'm right. Let's also hope it's the season when we get fans back through the turnstiles.
Newcastle's next game is on Friday the 13th against Melbourne Heart and based on what I saw from that game, Newcastle should be able to despatch them without a great struggle. Heart looked like a team just beginning to play together. Some of their passing was very wayward and their defence looked less than impressive. They do have some skill throughout the park and the Jets will have to mark Sibon and Alex Terra tightly. Both of those two showed some glimpses of skill that could cause opposition teams trouble. I also hope to continue to see the silky skills of Rutger Worm as he cleverly backheels the ball over the sidelines.
Over to you.
