Newcastle go top with win over Brisbane in front of bumper crowd

The Newcastle Jets have flown to the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League table after a thumping 4-1 win in front of a huge crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Lachie Bayliss scored a second half brace, with Clayton Taylor and Lachie Rose joining him on the scoresheet, while Dimitri Valkanis scored what turned out to be a consolation for the Roar just after the hour mark.

The club record fifth consecutive victory was recorded in front of the Jets’ biggest home crowd since the 2018 Isuzu UTE A-League grand final, with 12,162 turning out in hot and sweaty conditions in the Hunter valley.

Rose’s 18th minute penalty put him equal at the top of the golden boot standings with Wellington striker Ifeanyi Eze, and came after Brisbane keeper Dean Bouzanis took down Taylor who had controlled a looping ball inside the area.

Referee Alex King had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Rose similarly didn’t hesitate in passing the resultant penalty kick to the right with Bouzanis diving left.

The Jets spent the rest of the second half threatening to double their lead, with a typically supercharged Eli Adams free kick shaving the crossbar in first half stoppage time the pick of the chances.

Newcastle continued their domination in the second half with Adams having two chances before setting up Taylor in the 52nd minute to double the Jets’ advantage with a brilliant ball that took the Roar defence out and demanded a far post tap in.

Brisbane gave themselves what looked like a lifeline in the 62nd minute when Dimitri Valkanis scored his debut Isuzu UTE A-League goal with a quality header at the back post from a deep James McGarry cross.

View this post on Instagram

However Bayliss immediately restored the Jets’ two goal advantage when Taylor cut out Bouzanis’s attempted backpass and shuffled the ball to Rose who put in the 23-year-old to score his second in two weeks.

Bayliss then added a third in those two matches in stoppage time when Bouzanis could only parry a stinging effort from Max Burgess back into his path to complete a first ever career brace.

Between Bayliss’s goals a bad day for Brisbane got even worse when Christopher Long got sent off for a second bookable offence when he scythed down Taylor on the edge of his own area.

Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss any moments, highlights, or shows!

Compounding the pain even further for Brisbane was a first half injury to captain Jay O’Shea, who limped off in the second drinks break in the first half and was later seen with ice on his right hamstring.

The win was Newcastle’s fifth on the bounce – a first for the club in their two decade history – and puts them on top of the Isuzu UTE A-League, at least until Auckland play Perth later this evening at HBF Park.

The Jets will be hoping to their golden run going when they take on Adelaide United at AAMI Park next Sunday, while Brisbane host Central Coast Mariners at Kayo Stadium next Saturday.