The Newcastle Jets returned to home soil last night for their latest pre-season trial.
The Newcastle Jets returned to home soil last night for their latest pre-season trial.
A spirited assault by the Broadmeadow Magic held the Jets to account at Lake Macquarie Park but the A-League squad overcame all hurdles to post a 3-0 win – their sixth straight trial victory.
Local teams have a habit of lifting on the rare occasions they face the Jets in pre-season hit outs and the Magic was no exception. Strong defence saw the Jets scoreless for the majority of the first half until Labinot Haliti struck with a header off a perfectly positioned cross by stand in Captain, Ryan Griffiths.
One-nil ahead at the break, Coach Branko Culina awarded Haliti and Ruben Zadcovich with a rest and introduced Jeremy Brockie and Marco Jesic to the attack, a decision that would pay off mid-way through the second half as Jesic scored his first of two for the night.
The striker-s second came in the final minutes when Robert Virgili created an opportunity for Jesic to tap through for Newcastle-s third and final goal.
Coach Branko Culina said the Broadmeadow Magic pushed his side to the final whistle – just what his side needed to begin phase two of the A-League pre-season.
“We had some good game time this week, some much needed preparation,” Culina said.
“The more games the better for the players and the better their understanding of each other will be as a team.
“The whole squad managed to play extended minutes and it was against a competitive opposition which was good but having said that, there-s still a bit to do.”
The Jets now turn their attention to a friendly against the Melbourne Heart in Victoria next Friday in what promises to be a true indication of their progress with the pointy end of the pre-season fast approaching.
