The Newcastle Jets were dealt another dagger blow as they lost their third match in a row going down 2-0 to Perth Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium. Perth now overtake the Western Sydney Wanderers in seventh place heading into the final round of A-League football.
Newcastle Jets
Jack Duncan - 6
A great save one-one-one against Joel Chianese prevented Perth from snatching a third before half-time. Dived the right way for the penalty and was helpless for the second.
Jason Hoffman - 5
Perhaps Hoffman should never have been taken off his attacking heyday. He had to replace the suspended Georgievski at full-back but there was simply a lack of communication at the back leading to Joey Mills earning a penalty off his shoulder.
Ben Kantarovski - 5
Much better suited in midfield and perhaps an incorrect decision for Merrick to continue to use Kantarovski in central defence. Positional play was off colour as Joel Chianese found space in behind his left channel on multiple occasions.
Half the lights out at McDonald Jones Stadium luckily the fans have got it covered #NEWvPER #aleague @MJStadium @ALeague #phonelightsforthewin pic.twitter.com/Gh4hCUJJbp
— SportsCastle (@Sportscastleau) April 6, 2018
Nikolai Topor-Stanley - 5
Showed great hustle to deny Taggart a chance to round Jack Duncan but was split open by Xavi Torres as the Jets back line was caught way too high, allowing Chianese to use his speed in behind.
Ivan Vujica - 5.5
Anchored to defensive duties the entire match completing only one cross. Couldn’t keep up with Chianese early and was seen blocking crosses from corners rather than winning them.
Nick Cowburn - 5
Multiple turnovers of possession in the first half allowing Xavi Torres to dictate the tempo of the match. Sitting too deep and not putting pressure on players like Neil Kilkenny.
Steven Ugarkovic - 5
Comfortable in possession but Perth defended so well in their third that he was forced to more sideways passing than penetrating runs and threaded balls in behind.
Riley Mcgree - 5.5
Gave away the penalty early in the match as he was a little unawares, kicking the airborne Joey Mills to bring him down in the box. Seen coming deeper and deeper to get a touch on the ball in the second half, hindering his impact up front.
Dimi Petratos - 5.5
The tempo was way too slow for Petratos to get comfortable on the ball as Kilkenny managed to quash his threat. Despite some threaded passes in behind catching Perth unawares, Petratos isn’t keeping up his Socceroos form.
Ronald Vargas - 5
Sloppy in possession and failing to make an impact on the Jets attacking attempts tonight. Seemed sluggish and struggled to find pockets of space for him to exploit and create chances.
Roy O’Donovan - 4
Hardly any real chances provided for the Irishman. Perth defended extremely well and nullified his ability to hold up the ball and play off the shoulder.
SUBS
Wayne Brown - N/A
Subbed on and off after five minutes with a leg injury.
Pato Rodriguez - 5
An injection of life into the match but Newcastle had no foothold on the match for him to build momentum.
Joey Champness - 5
Almost pulled a goal back late in the game but couldn’t make a difference.
Perth Glory
Liam Reddy - 6.5
Great sweeper keeping early on as the Jets didn’t threaten in Perth’s defensive third, keeping Riley Mcgree from a two-on-one situation. Some brilliant last minute saves as Champness' diving header slammed into his midrift.
Scott Neville - 6.5
A solid performance from the former Newcastle Jet. A few forays forward despite Joel Chianese stealing the show in attack, Neville had some glimmers in the final third in the second half.
Alex Grant - 7
Some brilliant defending including great jockeying of Roy O’Donovan preventing him creating an angle for a dangerous shot on goal in the first half. Came into his own next to Shane Lowry and marshalled the defence well.
Shane Lowry - 6
Had a confident first half dealing with the passes of Petratos and Vargas as he played as a stopper, blocking passing lanes at the last moment and wining possession for Perth.
Joseph Mills - 5.5
Not spectacular but an average performance. Like his full-back counterpart, they played a great role getting forward but in terms of creating chances and putting promising balls into the box he wasn’t at his best.
Neil Kilkenny - 7
Many positives from the tiger in the midfield as he held onto Dimi Petratos alongside Xavi Torres. One of his best performances for 90 minutes for Perth which was very similar to their second half against Sydney FC.
Xavi Torres - 6.5
A great performance from the Spaniard, linking up well with Kilkenny in midfield. His movement continued to create space for Perth as they held onto their lead in the second half.
Joel Chianese - 7.5
In the battles early creating multiple chances on his right side. Showed great determination getting to the byline and cut back for Castro to hit the crossbar before splitting the Newcastle lines to set up Adam Taggart for the second.
Diego Castro - 7.5
A brilliant first half which included opening the scoring with a peach of a penalty hitting the side netting.
They don't come much easier than this for strikers like Adam Taggart.
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) April 6, 2018
📺 : Watch the second half LIVE on Fox Sports 501 pic.twitter.com/i7VAuKbNNw
Adam Taggart - 7
His third goal in two games as he builds up momentum into the final do or die round for the finals for Perth. Plenty of opportunities to strengthen their lead but he’d be happy on the scoresheet again.
Andy Keogh - 6.5
Despite the positive performance from Perth as a whole, the skipper still couldn’t stamp his authority on the result.
SUBS
Dino Djulbic - 6
Replaced the injured Shane Lowry at the beginning of the second half and maintained Perth’s clean sheet.
Chris Harold - N/A
Jake Brimmer - N/A
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