Wellington Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic hailed his side’s ‘disciplined’ performance following an upset win over second-placed Newcastle Jets on Saturday night.
Phoenix overcame a slow start and a fast-finishing Jets outfit to record an impressive 3-2 win at McDonald Jones Stadium.
New recruit Matija Ljucic and defender Daniel Mullen netted in quick succession in the first half before Roy Krishna sealed the result with a well-taken strike just before the hour mark.
The goal that proved to be the winner from Roy Krishna!
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— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) January 20, 2018
“We played really solid from the beginning. I have to say, they created a couple of chances in the first half and we come without any damage through that period,” Kalezic said at the post-match press conference.
“And then we wait where the weaknesses of Newcastle are, and we are looking to punish them on that point, and that’s what we did.
“The team showed really high team tactical discipline, and I am happy for [the] boys, for everybody in the club that we perform well today.”
MATCH REPORT | Phoenix ground high-flying Jets with hardworking team performance #COYN #NEWvWEL #ERereTeKeo 👉 https://t.co/2UMReZ7YJm pic.twitter.com/ci05VNpTe2
— Wellington Phoenix 🔥 (@WgtnPhoenixFC) January 20, 2018
Newcastle came to life after the break and reduced to deficit to 2-1 with Andrew Nabbout netting just three minutes following the restart.
But Roy Krishna’s goal less than 10 minutes later restored Wellington’s two-goal advantage and ultimately put the game beyond the Jets’ reach.
“The way how we recover after the [47th minute] goal, only a solid team can do [this],” Kalezic said.
“The squad who think on the same way and we show discipline, no panic at all and we did what we discussed with each other before the game.”
