Newcastle Jets coach Branko Culina has praised his side’s character after they overcome an early send off against Melbourne Heart to record their second consecutive away win.
The Jets lost Jobe Wheelhouse in the eighth minute, but then had a 2-0 lead just 10 minutes later thanks to a star turn from Francis Jeffers, who scored one goal and set up another.
The Jets then weathered a Heart storm, helped by a lion-hearted performance from stand-in goalkeeper Matthew Nash, repelling 25 shots on goal to move up the table into fifth.
For Culina, while the performance was satisfying, the resolve of his side impressed him greatly.
“The character, the disciplined attitude and commitment we showed was terrific. We knew we had it and we are beginning to show it. There’s still along way to go, but there’s a lot to like about this football team, and hopefully in the future it will be a football club,” Culina said.
It was Jeffers’ first goal in his sixth game for the club, but also his best performance in a Jets shirt, with Culina saying the club had been rewarded for waiting for the right guest player to come along.
“We took our time to make sure we got the right person, It was important we got the right person because you get one go at it and if it doesn’t work, it costs you a lot of money,” he said,
“Also, it’s a credit to other players around him. They’ve accepted him, Francis has had a difficult time. He hadn’t played football in about five months.”
“It’s a credit to him, he’s been superb for us. He’s a leader for us as well, because, he’s a quiet individual but one that very much has pride in himself and how he goes about his tasks. He’s certainly fitted in well with the rest of the team.”
Marko Jesic, one of the Jets’ real success stories of this season, said the momentum had really grown behind the team with two terrific away wins in the space of a few days.
“After the first win on the road against North Queensland it was a big boost for us. We hadn’t done it all year. Coming into this game we were confident we could do it again and we did. Six points in total in two away trips is good,” Jesic said.
But while the Jets are surfing the crest of a wave after a six-match unbeaten run, Culina is determined to prove that this burst of form is sustained right through to the end of the season.
“We’re getting there, we’re not there yet. We’re not where we’d like to be,” he said.
