Former players came back to haunt a 10-man Melbourne Victory as Newcastle Jets ran riot in an eventful 4-1 win at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.
Andrew Nabbout netted a brace either side of half-time to help set up the come-from-behind win which temporarily sends the Jets back to the top of the table.
Kosta Barbarouses and Daniel Georgievski both scored inside a chaotic first 13 minutes, before the contest swung in the home side’s favour with Mark Milligan’s sending off.
Jets quickly made their numerical advantage count through Nabbout, who added a second late in the game after Joe Champness had extended the margin.
Newcastle have now won five of their opening eight matches in an incredible start to life under Ernie Merrick, while last season’s Grand Finalists remain stuck on seven points.
STORY OF THE GAME
- Barbarouses gave Victory the perfect beginning with a stunning early opener.
- But the equaliser came less than 10 minutes later and in similarly fine fashion from Georgievski.
- Ivan Vujica’s goal-bound drive was somehow tipped away from the top corner by a flying Lawrence Thomas.
- Victory lost Rhys Williams to a leg complaint and their hopes took another blow when Milligan was shown a straight red for lashing out with a headbutt on former teammate Georgievski.
- And their night got even worse when Nabbout tapped home to complete the turnaround before half-time.
- Newcastle suffered their own setbacks as Jason Hoffman and Georgievski both limped out of the contest in quick succession.
- They still managed to put the seal on three points, though, when Champness punished some sleepy defending.
- The young attacker saw a chance for a second blocked on the line by Broxham before Petratos went even closer, unleashing a thunderous shot against the crossbar.
- Eventually, the Jets got their fourth as Petratos teed up Nabbout to complete the scoring.
GOALS
Barbarouses, Melbourne Victory 5′: 0-1
Picked out over the top by James Troisi, Barbarouses got away from Nikolai Topor-Stanley and thumped a stunning first-time finish beyond Glen Moss from the edge of the area.
Georgievski, Newcastle Jets 14′: 1-1
The equaliser was almost as brilliant, Georgievski curling an excellent left-footed strike into the top far corner after Petratos’ back-heel made space in the area.
Nabbout, Newcastle Jets 37′: 2-1
Georgievski found Hoffman overlapping on the right and Nabbout was on hand to turn home a low ball across the face.
Champness, Newcastle Jets 75′: 3-1
Victory fell asleep on a throw-in as Champness was allowed to stride unchecked into the penalty area, before he applied a cool low finish across Thomas.
Nabbout, Newcastle Jets 83′: 4-1
Petratos was the architect, ghosting around Carl Valeri and whipping the ball to the far post for a second Nabbout tap-in.
