Kale Bradbery scored a hat-trick in Newcastle’s 6-2 win over Perth Glory in the Foxtel National Youth League match at Intiga Stadium on Saturday.
Kale Bradbery scored a hat-trick in Newcastle’s 6-2 win over Perth Glory in the Foxtel National Youth League match at Intiga Stadium on Saturday.
Bradbery scored twice in the first half and capped off a memorable match with a third goal and his team’s sixth midway through the second.
Mitchell Oxborrow, Radovan Pavicevic and James Virgili also found the back of the net for the victorious Jets.
Glory striker Ndumbe Makeche scored a brace for the home team, who put up several chances that were denied by Jets goalkeeper John Solari.
The impressive Solari also stopped a penalty in the first half that would have put Perth in front.
Bradbery scored the opener in the eighth minute when he pounced on a long goal kick into Newcastle’s attacking half before sidestepping two Perth defenders and then easily placing the ball past goalkeeper Luke Radonich.
Glory levelled the score just four minutes later when Daniel De Silva weaved through two Jets players on the goal-line and fired in a low cross that Makeche knocked into the back of the net.
Perth should have taken a 2-1 lead after 17 minutes when Makeche was taken down in the box by Solari, but Glory captain Brandon O’Neill failed to convert from the penalty spot.
Harry O’Brien created another chance for Perth moments later after some clever passes from Isaka Cernak and Jeremy Tshongo, but Solari positioned himself well to block the shot.
Those misses proved costly and Oxborrow made Glory pay by slamming the ball past Radonich in the 26th minute to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
Bradbery soon made it 3-1 for the Jets when he scored his second goal in similar fashion to his first.
De Silva ran on to a chance after the restart, but again Solari was up to the task.
Makeche pulled one back for Glory just before half-time to give the home side some hope of upsetting the third-placed Jets.
But Pavicevic all but ended that ambition two minutes into the second half with Newcastle’s fourth of the match.
Virgili added a fifth before Bradbery completed his hat-trick in the 62nd minute with another clever attacking move that exposed Perth’s lacklustre defence.
De Silva and Makeche had late chances to score consolation goals for Glory, but Solari once again made his presence felt.
The only downside for Newcastle was the dismissal of Thomas Whiteside for a second yellow card deep in injury time.
Perth Glory 2 (Makeche 12m, 41m)
Newcastle Jets 6 (Bradbery 8m, 31m, 62m, Oxborrow 26m, Pavicevic 47m, Virgili 54m)
Played at Intiga Stadium
Perth Glory: 1. Luke Radonich (GK), 2. Joshua Tucker (15. Scott Robertson 59m), 3. Jeremy Tshongo, 4. Brandon O’Neill, 5. Sean Troup (8. Borbor Sam 46m), 6. Harry O’Brien, 7. Daniel De Silva, 9. Ndumbe Makeche, 10. Adrian Zahra, 11. Jacob Collard (16. Jacob Knowles 56m), 14. Isaka Cernak.
Unused substitute: 12. Fraser Greenwood (GK)
Yellow cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets: 1. John Solari (GK), 2. Michael Finlayson, 3. Thomas Whiteside, 4. Nicholas Cowburn, 5. Matthew Bilic, 6. Michael Kantarovski (11. Brandon Lundy 88m), 7. Radovan Pavicevic (12. Andrew Pawiak 58m), 8. Mitchell Oxborrow, 9. Kale Bradbery, 10. James Virgili (15. Benjamin Hay 58m), 11. Brandon Lundy (14. Willis Nadfalusi 46m).
Unused substitute: 20. Adam Pearce (GK)
Yellow cards: John Solari 17m; Thomas Whiteside 61m
Red cards: Thomas Whiteside 90m+4