A penalty save has denied the Newcastle Jets a share of the points, going down 1-0 to Japanese side Nagoya Grampus in their Asian Champions League clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Wednesday night.
After a tight first half, Nagoya took the lead in the 57th minute via striker Ogawa Yoshizumi. Newcastle striker Sasho Petrovski came off the bench to earn a penalty in the 77th minute only to see his spot kicked saved by Nagoya skipper Narazaki Seigo in goals.
The win extends Nagoya-s lead at the top of Group E with the Japanese side sitting on eight points while the Jets remain rooted on 4 points from four matches and in danger of missing out on the top two with two rounds remaining.
The home side started the Match Day Four tie the better and created the first real chance in the sixth minute. Newcastle midfielder Adam Griffiths bought the ball through the middle of the park to the edge of the area where he played a nice one-two with Donny De Groot. The Nagoya defence stabbed the ball away but only as far as youngster Brodie Mooy, who had his scuffed shot blocked by the Grampus keeper Narazaki Seigo.
Moments later Jets defender Angelo Costanzo, who as playing in his first game for Newcastle showed his lack of match play when he miscued a header from six-yards out after Fabio Vignaroli had delivered a lovely free-kick from wide out on the right flank.
The Japanese side started working their way back into the match targeting Jets youngsters Brodie Mooy and Jason Hoffman and finding plenty of space down the wings.
Midfielder Nakamura Naoshi weaved his way to shoot from the edge of the six-yard box only to be stopped by Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy, while Brazilian import Magnum missed a golden chance when he failed to get a touch on a dangerous cross from Ogawa Yoshizumi on the left wing.
An incisive run from Hoffman on the half-hour mark gifted Newcastle a chance when he was brought down just outside the area. Vignaroli delivered another excellent free-kick only for Adam Griffiths to flick his header narrowly wide.
The Jets lost their Italian playmaker just moments later when Vignaroli went down with what looked like a recurrence of a hamstring injury. Kaz Patafta replaced him in the 32nd minute while Nagoya was forced to bring on Sugimoto Keita for Magnum, who was injured in a heavy tackle from Jets midfielder Ben Kantarovski.
The visitors finished the first half with more running and threatened via two free-kicks just outside the penalty area only to send the first one over the bar and then see the Jets defence clear the second attempt to leave the score locked a 0-0 at the halftime
Nagoya-s picked up where they left off before the break with Brazilian striker Davi heading inches wide before Kennedy did well to keep out a long-range thunderbolt from midfielder Masukawa Takahiro.
The pressure told in the 57th minute when Nagoya made the most of a lucky break to score the first goal. Matt Thompson-s clearance deflected off the heel of United Arab Emirates referee Ali Saif Albadwawi straight to Grampus substitute Sugimoto who took the ball wide before crossing for Ogawa, who buried his shot from six-yards out.
Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond brought on attacking weapons Sasho Petrovski and Sean Rooney for De Groot and Hoffman respectively in the 62nd minute to revive the home side-s hopes.
The moved looked to have paid dividends when Petrovski earned a penalty in the 77th minute when he was felled in the box by Bajalica Milos after good lead-up work from Tarek Elrich. But Narazaki did well to dive to his left and save Petrovski-s spot kick.
The Jets tried valiantly to level the match in the remaining minutes but were thwarted by a determined Nagoya defence, who did well to earn a hard-fought away win.
Newcastle Jets 0
Nagoya Grampus 1
(Ogawa 57)
