Newcastle Jets have celebrated three consecutive wins in the Isuzu UTE A-League for the first time since 2018 after outclassing Brisbane Roar 3-1.
The high-flying Jets soared to their seven-year first thanks to goals from Kota Mizunuma, Eli Adams and Clayton Taylor at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
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In-form Japanese star Mizunuma scored his maiden A-Leagues goal to open the scoring before Adams doubled the lead seven prior to the interval in the Hunter region, where an incredible free-kick from captain Jay O’Shea gave the Roar hope on the stroke of half-time.
But Taylor’s 50th-minute strike sealed the win and extended Newcastle’s unbeaten run to five games as they closed within four points of the top six after catapulting themselves up to ninth spot amid their resurgence, while Brisbane remain bottom.
History was made before kick-off, with identical twins and linesmen Brad and Cameron Wright becoming the first twins to officiate an Isuzu UTE A-League fixture together. For fellow assistant referee Cameron, it was his A-Leagues bow.
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There were a couple of early warning signs for Newcastle after Roar’s Henry Hore flashed a shot just wide of the post inside 20 minutes.
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But the Jets were the team who struck first, somewhat against the run of play in the 21st minute. Lachie Rose was a threat throughout and he was involved in the opener as his neat work led to Lachie Bayliss picking out Mizunuma and the Japanese star made no mistake for his maiden A-Leagues goal.
It was a memorable moment for Mizunuma and Newcastle as it was the club’s 350th home goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
There was some more super football from the Jets and all that was missing was the finish after Mizunuma picked out Rose with a sublime cross and the latter’s effort just went over the bar in the 37th minute.
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But within a minute, the Jets doubled their lead. It was Brisbane’s former midfielder Adams who brought the Roar unstuck with a well-taken goal.
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Then, with half-time approaching, a moment of magic from O’Shea gave the Roar renewed hope. The Brisbane skipper stood over a free-kick and converted the long-range spot-kick in a goal-of-the-season contender.
The McDonald Jones Stadium fell silent after witnessing the wonderstrike as O’Shea became just the fourth player in Roar’s history to score at least 30 goals for the club, behind Besart Berisha, Henrique and Jamie Maclaren.
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Newcastle restored their two-goal cushion five minutes into the second half. After Callum Timmins rattled the post, Taylor was on hand to tuck home the rebound amid protests for offside from Roar players but the goal stood.
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Thomas Aquilina nearly made it 4-1 but his thunderous long-range stroke cannoned off the woodwork in the 63rd minute.
Brisbane had a golden opportunity to pull a goal back after the visitors found themselves in a one-v-one situation after Kosta Grozos was dispossessed but Nathan Amanatidis saw his shot saved before Roar recruit Asumah Abubakar saw his goal-bound effort blocked by Mark Natta, with the ball hitting the Jets defender’s arm. The visitors demanded a penalty but it was not given.
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