Veteran striker Sasho Petrvoski has scored the winner in his 100th Hyundai A-League match to help Newcastle to four wins in a row after overcoming a determined North Queensland Fury 3-2 in an entertaining clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Petrovski came off the bench to break a 2-2 deadlock seven minutes from full-time after an own goal from Fury defender Chris Tadrosse and a great strike to Newcastle midfielder Jin-Hyung Song was cancelled by two goals from North Queensland Fury striker Dyron Daal either side of half-time to set up a thrilling finish in the Round 20 fixture.
The win sees Newcastle become the first team this season to win four in a row and helps the Jets consolidate a place in the top four while the Fury must feel unlucky to go home empty-handed after having created plenty of chances to win the match.
“I think the amount of chances we had and created, especially in the second half, if we could have put one or two of those away perhaps we could have scraped a draw,” Fury coach Ian Ferguson said after the match.
“But credit to Newcastle they put us under the pump…and we missed a lot of chances.”
It was the Fury that had the better of the start and they fashioned the first real chance in the 15th minute when Daal played a nice ball into the area for Jeremy Brockie. The Kiwi forward fired a solid right-footed shot at goal that was parried away by Newcastle goalkeeper Neil Young.
Just moments later Daal went close when he slotted through a crowd penalty area from 15 metres out only to see his shot come off the far post then rebounding off Ljubo Milicevic before it was hastily cleared off the line by Young.
The Jets worked their way back into the match and snatched the lead in the 24th minute when Song rose high to flick on Matt Thompson’s corner. Fury defender Chris Tadrosse made a meal of the ball at the back post as it trickled in for the opening goal.
Newcastle had the momentum and duly doubled its lead in the 38th minute when Song popped up at the back post to slot home after a break down the left wing by Labinot Haliti.
North Queensland produced some of its renowned fighting spirit when Daal snared his first goal in the 44th minute from 10 yards out after a goal-mouth scramble to send the sides to the break with Newcastle holding a 2-1 lead.
The Fury maintained their momentum to start the second half and good work from Fowler presented a golden opportunity for Chris Grossman just inside the box but he ballooned his shot over the bar.
The Fury kept up the pressure and were rewarded on the hour mark when Daal scored his second. Jason Spagnuolo chipped in a cross from the left wing, Newcastle defender Tarke Elrich headed the ball clear but only as far as Daal, who unleashed a true volley from the edge of the area that rocketed into the far corner of the net.
Petrovski, who replaced Kaz Patafta at half-time looked to have put Newcastle back in front just two minutes later when he slotted home from an acute angle after a clever run by Song, but the veteran striker’s celebrations were cut short as he was called for offside.
Down the other end Fowler spurned a golden opportunity in the 72 minute when he scooped his shot over the target from 12 yards out after being played in by Brockie, before Brockie did the same after being put on goal by Fowler.
Petrovski was eventually able to celebrate a goal in his 100th A-League match when he bulldozed his way through the middle of the Fury defence before slotting home the winner to send the vocal home crowd into raptures.
“When you’re winning you don’t necessarily have to play pretty football, and we certainly didn’t do that today, but because we’re winners we just kept winning.” Newcastle Jets coach Branko Culina said after the match.
“But today, achieved what no other team in the A-League has, including Melbourne and Sydney, we won four in a row.”
Newcastle Jets 3
(Tadrosse 24og, Song38, Petrovski 83)
North Queensland Fury 2
(Daal 44, 61)
Crowd 7,026 at EnergyAustralia Stadium
