Newcastle coach Arthur Papas may be forced to test his defensive depth just a week into the A-League Men’s season after their 2-1 loss to the Central Coast Mariners.
Papas will need to check on the fitness of Jason Hoffman ahead of Sunday’s trip to face the Western Sydney Wanderers after he was substituted in the first half.
Not helping the Jets’ fortunes is that Dylan Murnane is coming back from injury and Lucas Mauragis was forced to quarantine on his way back from Olyroos duty.
“It is extremely frustrating because from a communication point, what we received wasn’t ideal,” Papas said of Mauragis, who got out of quarantine on Saturday.
“After two weeks in quarantine, you’re not really ready to move at the intensity that is required to play this football right now.
“Hopefully we will have him in a position to play for us sooner or not.
“There’s been a few situations where we hoped to have him straight back after the tournament.”
Hoffman, meanwhile, came off after 15 minutes when he fell awkwardly while competing for a ball.
Riley Warland filled the void ably, but the Jets were unable to prevent the Central Coast from scoring two second half goals via Jacob Farrell and Josh Nisbet to seal the victory.
“He felt his adductor. He wanted to continue but we’re not at a stage to make him stay on the field if he’s not 100 per cent,” Papas said.
“He made a call which completely shows the character of the person to not try and stay out when he’s not 100 per cent.”
While the Jets’ high defensive line opened up opportunities for the Mariners, Papas was happy with how they were able to restrict their opponents.
“The goals weren’t from those situations,” Papas said.
“The goals came from a turnover in the centre of the midfield and a set piece.
“The idea was to play behind us and go long, (but) it’s not what actually cost us in the end.”
