Late Diego Castro equaliser leaves Newcastle frustrated

Diego Castro rescued a come from behind point as reigning Hyundai A-League Premiers Perth Glory were held 1-1 by Newcastle Jets on Saturday.

Newcastle led for the majority of the clash after Jason Hoffman’s emphatic opener on 30 minutes but Castro turned in an equaliser late in the evening to leave the hosts frustrated.

Castro’s strike – the Spaniard’s 43rd in the Hyundai A-League – leaves the Jets waiting for their first win of the 2019/20 campaign.

Newcastle are also without a win over Glory at home since 2011.

That record looked set to be broken when Hoffman made the breakthrough, and the Jets were left to lament a big opportunity to double their lead through Nick Fitzgerald in the second half, who saw his effort cleared off the line by Glory defender Alex Grant.

However, the reigning Premiers dominated the possession count and their relentless probing of the Jets area finally paid dividends when Castro fired home in the 86th minute after some desperate Newcastle defending.

Grant was sent off for the visitors shortly after Castro’s equaliser for his second yellow card of the affair.

Hoffman hands Jets the lead

The Jets had been opened up by Perth in the early stages but took the lead on the half hour mark.

Steven Ugarkovic spotted the run of Jason Hoffman with a delightful ball into the box and the Newcastle boy, playing in his 204th Hyundai A-League game, fired an emphatic finish past Liam Reddy.

It was the first goal Newcastle had scored against Glory in over six hours.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6102116691001

Grant saves the day

Perth ramped up the pressure in the second half but were in debt to defender Alex Grant for keeping the scoreline 1-0.

Abdiel Arroyo clipped a fantastic ball into the path of Nick Fitzgerald, who got past Reddy, but Grant’s desperate goal-line clearance prevented the Jets attacker from notching his first Jets goal.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6102121992001

Ikonomidis rattles the crossbar

The Premiers continued to press forward in search of an equaliser and were denied by the crossbar when Chris Ikonomidis unleashed this brilliant strike from outside the box.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6102125889001