The Jets were content to let Sydney control the play and hit on the counterattack and it was a tactic that paid dividends throughout the match. Newcastle took the lead twice, once through some counterattacking play and once through a corner. 

However, Sydney’s VISA contingent simply cannot be contained for long. Ninkovic went for a gorgeous little dance in the box and Mierzejewski and Bobo combined for the second. 

I think the referee deserves a shout out for some great advantages. Nine out of ten. Super impressive, especially considering most A-League referees usually rate in the negatives.

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne - 6  

Dealt well with a few rough backpasses. Couldn’t do anything better for the Newcastle goals. Wasn’t tested enough with the Jets putting some promising openings high and wide.  

Luke Wilkshire - 5.5

Made some good forays forward but he was unable to stop Champness from getting man-of-the-match.

Jordy Buijs - 6

Sydney’s back two could have dealt with Newcastle’s forwards a bit better. Maybe he was guilty of trying too hard tonight, Sydney have a big decision to make in regards to who out of their VISA contingent makes the cut for the ACL. Buijs was turned a few times after he got too close to Nabbout. He just needed to back off a bit.  

Alex Wilkinson - 6

Similar story to Buijs except that Wilkinson was a little bit more composed. Knows his role in the team is to just play O’Neill as often as possible.

Michael Zullo - 6.5

Had a few early chances he would want to take again. Hoffman was the quietest of the Newcastle forwards so maybe Zullo can take some credit there, although the Jets forwards move around a lot. 

Josh Brillante - 6

Did some great sweeping in front of the defence. He wasn’t as influential as his midfield partner, but he did put some very nice longer passes into the forwards. Dealt well with the intense pressure Newcastle tried to put him under.

Branden O’Neill - 7

Nearly all of Sydney’s forward play went through him tonight. He did some great link-up play with the Sydney attackers and did his part in giving the match the entertaining flow it had.

Adrian Meirzejewski - 7

Whilst this was one of his quietest games for Sydney, he was still massively influential. He has set some very high standards for himself.

Milos Ninkovic - 8

Amazing goal and some incredible attacking play but his defensive work rate was also exemplary. A couple of times in the game his efforts to track back reeled in promising Newcastle attacks.  

David Carney - 5.5

He was a little off tonight and mistimed a few of his runs and just didn’t seem on the same wavelength as some of his team mates. This might not have been entirely his fault but it meant he had a frustrating game.

Bobo - 6

Lady Luck was not on his side tonight. The ball just didn’t fall for him on several occasions. But a striker of his quality makes his own luck. His headed goal was a textbook example of a good headed finish. Down into the ground. Clinical.

Substitutes

Matt Simon - 6

Hustled and bustled, which should be his middle names. Or the names of his kids. Or his pets.

Charles Lockolingoy - 5.5

A couple of good touches and a couple of bad touches.

Newcastle Jets

Glen Moss - 6

Only let in two against Sydney which is probably nothing to scoff at, at the moment. 

Johnny Koutroumbis - 6

Lost the ball a couple of times but often won it back. A couple of his tackles may have won his team a point.

Lachlan Jackson - 7

Had his pants pulled down by Ninkovic but otherwise played well. Singlehandedly saved a goal and did extremely well to keep the pace for the full 97 minutes tonight.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley - 7.5

Superb positioning saved his side on a number of occasions. The A-League has a number of standout centre-halves at the moment and he is one. With Lowry, Williams and Wilkinson all knocking on the door for the Green and Gold, old Hyphen should be considered too.  

Daniel Georgevski - 6.5

Hopefully his substitution after going down is nothing serious. His cross for Nabbout’s goal was fantastic.

Steven Ugarkovic - 6.5

He wasn’t as influential this week as he had been previously. That said, he still had some very good moments. He has a good change of pace and is a threat when he turns it on and bursts forward from the midfield.  

Wayne Brown - 6

Some great long passes to get the counterattacks started. This was his best performance for a while but he still lacks the confidence and verve he had when he first came to the A-League.

Dimitri Petratos - 6.5

Wriggled clear of Brillante to mastermind some of Newcastle’s dangerous counterattacks. Once or twice he didn’t choose the best option while still managing to keep the ball. So on the one hand it was commendable but on the other hand, what might those attacks have been?

Joey Champness - 7.5

Probably his best game in a Jets shirt. His goal was deserved reward for his hard work tonight. Showed great promise but his game needs a lot of polish. At twenty-years old, he’s got a lot of time to improve 

Andrew Nabbout - 7

Some exceptional hold-up play. Graham Arnold said Bobo could have had a hat trick tonight, as if to say Sydney should have won, but Nabbout could have just as easily had a hat trick too. He had a few half chances but he really should have done better when Champness released him in the box. Otherwise, he had a very good game. Is he the best performing Australian forward in the league?

Jason Hoffman - 6.5

He was the weak link in the Jets’ front three tonight. Found himself offside a few times early on and just didn’t have the impact his team needed.

Substitutes

Mario Shabow - 5.5

Made a couple of good plays but couldn’t swing the match back in his team’s favour.

Devante Clut - 4.5

His most telling contribution was to mess up one of his team’s late counterattacks.

Kosta Petratos – Didn’t get enough time to make an impact.