Wanderers’ coach Hayden Foxe can feel Josep Gombau breathing down his neck.

He prepped the Wanderers to go out and attack Newcastle and it worked – Western Sydney took an early lead through a moment of Mark Bridge brilliance.

But they nervously fell back almost just as quickly. Losing Chris Herd and Kearyn Baccus to injuries then derailed any momentum, and from then on it was Newcastle’s to lose.

After losing Ronny Vargas to a horrific injury in their last encounter, the Jets looked a shadow of their former selves in the first half.

Ernie Merrick’s men responded in the second through Dimi Petratos, and tried to further capitalise as the Wanderers fell back, but there are question marks over how far Newcastle can go without their midfield talisman.

NEWCASTLE JETS

Jack Duncan - 6

Shaky from corners, but didn’t have a lot to do.

Daniel Georgievski – N/A

Only lasted 12 minutes before going down injured, which casts doubt over Ernie Merrick's decision to start him.

Nigel Boogaard – 7.5

Strong in the air and along with Topor-Stanley makes the Jets backline look like forces of nature.   

Nikolai Topor-Stanley - 8

Immensely physical. Started poorly but warmed himself up quickly, and ended up throwing himself around like a rag doll to win everything.

Ivan Vujica - 8

Performed purposefully, as you’d expect from someone who signed a two-year deal today.

Benjamin Kantarovski - 7

Had zero influence in the first 30, copped a spray from Merrick and sharpened up to put in a commanding second half display.

Steven Ugarkovic – 6

Heavy touches characterised most of his game, but he responded with some nifty passing in the second half.

Wayne Brown 6.5

Tidy defensively but lacked going forward, despite his direct attitude.

Dimitri Petratos – 5.5

Composed but not penetrative, looks like he’ll suffer in a central role. After a bit of a nightmare, at least he scored from a rebound.              

Roy O'Donovan - 6

Deserved a 5, but Merrick clearly wants to use him as a poacher, so his lack of involvement is only half the equation.

Very quiet in the first, but tried to force the issue in the second. It was his strong shot that forced a weak palm from Janjetovic, leading to the equaliser.

Andrew Nabbout - 7   

   

Quick to press forward to mop up loose balls – clearly a plan from the Jets to encourage Western Sydney to switch early and try to steal a counter.

He wasn’t the only Jets player to pick poor options, but he was one of the most positive.

Jason Hoffman – 7.5

Showed attacking intent as soon as came on, and disappointingly for Newcastle fans was the only player in the first half who looked like he had a point to prove.

Created the Jets first goal but miss-hit a few late crosses to sour his night.

Joey Champness

Better footballer than he is rapper. Energetic and as springy as a rubber mattress, and it’s great to see a young player who doesn’t go missing for periods within the game.

Mario Shabow – N/A

Not on long enough to give a proper rating

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS FC

Vedran Janjetovic - 6

Had little to do and deflected O’Donovans shot straight back into the firing line for the Jets’ equaliser, but he was brave with crosses.  

Josh Risdon - 6

Mixed bag defensively and messy at times going forward, but he was heavily involved. Probably should have put in a few more crosses for Riera.

Brendan Hamill - 6

He’s improving in an attacking sense and looks to be an aerial threat, but lacks mobility at the back, emphasised by his lacklustre performance against Joey Champness.

Robert Cornthwaite - 7

Solid performance, but he always looks a composed figure for the Wanderers.

Raúl Llorente - 7

Heavily involved as usual, with differing results. He provides an attacking threat for the likes of Kearyn Baccus and Chris Herd to spread their lines, but he doesn’t always exploit space intelligently.

Chris Herd – 6.5      

For all the talk around Herd and a possible Socceroo reclamation, he looks a shadow of Baccus.

A few loose passes early and a lack of creativity characterised his 66 minutes, but he steadied his game before getting knocked out of the park by a rampaging Topor Stanley.

Ended up going off with a concussion.

Kearyn Baccus – 7.5

Baccus needs to be in contention for a Socceroos spot, physical, quick and composed with brilliant vision, it was a shame to see him retire on the 55th minute with abdominal issues.

Álvaro Cejudo - 6

Holding him to a higher standard; he’s cheeky and moderately skilful, but lacks quality and composure.

Positive but without the final product, and slightly unconvincing from set pieces.

Jumpei Kusukami – 8.5

He’s been brilliant this season. Quick, agile and skilful performance, he knows exactly when to release the ball.

Oriol Riera - 6

Fairly quiet and dropped to deep when he wasn’t straying offside. Doesn’t seem to suit the Wanderers style.      

Mark Bridge – 7.5

Hasn’t lost his touch in Malaysia. Brilliant finish off the back of Kusukami’s dynamism, but never seemed to get in the box.

Roly Bonevacia - 6

It’s sums up how good the Wanderers lineup are this season that they can take off Baccus and bring on Bonevacia, leading 1-0 against the Jets.

However, he couldn’t replicate the sort of performance he has so far this season, and looked generally fatigued.

Jonathan Aspropotamitis - 6.5

Slow to react and naïve at times, but showed strength to deny Newcastle a late winner. 

Jaushua Sotirio - N/A

Lacked a final pass and didn't seem a positive substition, but not on long enough to give a fair rating