Newcastle Jets head coach Rob Stanton was adamant in his belief that Melbourne City goalkeeper Jamie Young should have been sent off in Sunday’s Isuzu UTE A-League fixture.
City were too good for the Jets in a 2-0 victory away from home at McDonald Jones Stadium, but there was a contentious moment late in the second half.
Trailing 2-0 after Benjamin Mazzeo and Jamie Maclaren had put City in a commanding position, Jets sensation Archie Goodwin was introduced into the contest and was brought down cynically by Young, who was well outside of his penalty box.
Inside the final 12 minutes, the referee only brandished a yellow card while Newcastle players appealed for a red as there was an open goal after Young stormed out of his area. Even after a VAR review, the official stuck with his original decision – a caution.
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After the game, Jets boss Stanton was asked about the incident on Paramount+.
“I think it’s an error,” he replied. “It’s only my opinion and everyone else has an opinion. Mine opinion is that it’s a red card.
“You can cover the players on the inside but no one is covering the goal and he’s around him.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a red card. Again, I have to accept the decision but for some unknown reason we didn’t get it.
“You have to roll with it. I think it’s a red and a big error of judgement.”
Newcastle had some chances in the first half against City – Trent Buhagiar hit the crossbar against the run of play.
However, the youthful Jets crashed to a second consecutive defeat and third loss of the season as the team’s winless run against City continued.
Former Sydney FC youth coach and assistant Stanton is in his first season at the helm in the Hunter after replacing Arthur Papas in the off-season.
He was passionately defiant in his belief when asked about Newcastle – who handed 19-year-old Justin Vidic his A-Leagues debut on Sunday – and what they can do to avoid a further dip in form.
“You have to keep going back to what you want to do on the pitch. Keep driving that belief,” said Stanton.
“It’s a young, young, young team. You saw Justin Vidic today. They’re not going to be spot on straight away. I thought a kid like him did well and it gives you encouragement.
“Everyday you have to keep working and look at the big picture. We have to expose players. I’m willing to do it. I’m putting my head on the chopping block. I’m okay with that.
“I know everyone wants to win but if you don’t expose players and develop them, where are they going to come from?
“In the end, that’s what we’re going to do. Yes I’m disappointed we didn’t win today. Yes, we can do better and that’s what you do everyday and train.
“I’m confident with this group of players at some stage we’re going to get on a roll and evidence suggests to me we can. Again you need to accumulate experience and exposure to be able to gain that experience.
“It’s a vast difference in experience in the teams you saw today. It showed with two mistakes from us and we got punished for it.
“On another day we might get away with it with other teams but against a quality team you won’t. So there’s a lot of lessons to be learnt.
“You either drop your head or you get on with it. If you want to be a professional footballer or a coach, you gotta get on with it and that’s what I’m going to do.
“I’m not worried about that. I’ll continue to give opportunities and continue to try to make a difference with those players because I belief we can do good things. We’ve had a solid start, we’ve been on the road a bit. It’s time to stand up when the moment comes.”
