An undermanned Melbourne Victory have slumped to a second straight Isuzu UTE A-League defeat after the Newcastle Jets came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at AAMI Park.
REACTION: Thompson – ‘Soft’ penalty, Brillante red ‘changed the whole game’
Victory took the ascendancy just before halftime through Jake Brimmer’s first goal of the campaign, but Josh Brillante’s dismissal just three minutes into the second stanza swung the game towards the visitors.
Valentino Yuel’s 57th minute half-volley and Beka Mikeltadze’s 70th minute penalty subsequently provided them with a lead they would not surrender as coach Arthur Papas’ side moved into eighth place on the table.
Victory, conversely, have now lost two straight league games since winning the FFA Cup last week, and, thanks to COVID-19 and Cup-enforced delays, haven’t won an ALM match since Boxing Day.
Falling to fifth with the defeat, coach Tony Popovic’s side now sits just a point clear of seventh-placed Wellington Phoenix, who drew with Adelaide United earlier on Saturday.
After being forced to reckon with the Jets’ press early in the contest, Victory showed signs of progress late on in the first half as Jason Davidson had a shot cleared off the line in the 35th minute and Brendan Hamill had a goal disallowed for offside in the 40th.
Brimmer’s quick reaction to send Jack Duncan’s block of a Marco Rojas effort two minutes into injury time gave them the advantage heading into the rooms.
However, Brillante’s careless second yellow card threw the Jets a lifeline that was eagerly accepted.
With a one-man advantage, a perfectly weighted lob from Daniel Penha froze Victory keeper Ivan Kelava in place and was turned in by Yuel for the equaliser, before Mikeltadze won the game after Hamill tangled with Olivier Boumal and gave away a contentious spot-kick.
LIVE FEED
Written by Matthew Comito for KEEPUP
FULL-TIME: MELBOURNE VICTORY 1-2 NEWCASTLE JETS
A massive save late on from Jack Duncan prevented 10-man Melbourne Victory taking a point, with the visiting Newcastle Jets defeating the favoured hosts at AAMI Park.
GOAL! Mikeltadze from the spot completes the turnaround (9.16pm AEDT)
Behind at the break, leading after 70 minutes – the Jets have taken full advantage of Brillante’s dismissal to come from behind and take the lead at AAMI Park.
The Jets earned a penalty after Hamill’s challenge on Olivier Boumal in the box; the Victory players and fans alike were adamant Hamill had committed no foul on the Cameroon international who went down under contact from behind.
But the VAR did not overturn the on-field decision, as Beka Mikeltadze stepped forward to calmly slot the ball past Kelava to go level with Jamie Maclaren on top of the Golden Boot standings.
GOAL! Penha feeds Yuel to equalise for Jets (9.03pm AEDT)
That was a piece of quality from Daniel Penha, the Brazilian creator who put the ball on a plate for Yuel to convert at the back post and bring the visitors level.
Penha’s left-footed delivery fell at the feet of Yuel who poked the ball on the half-volley over Victory keeper Ivan Kelava to drop into the back of the net.
It’s the second time the Jets have scored since Brillante’s sending off, with Jason Hoffman’s earlier finish ruled out for an offside call on the Jets veteran. Newcastle have the one-man advantage and all the momentum heading into the last half-hour of play.
RED CARD: Victory captain Brillante walks for second yellow (8.55pm AEDT)
A second yellow card to Josh Brillante has seen the Victory captain receive his marching orders. The second offence came as Brillante dragged Angus Thurgate down as the Jets man turned Brillante near the halfway mark.
Brillante received his first yellow for a late challenge on Kostandinos Grozos in the first half.
GOAL! This time it stands as Brimmer put Victory ahead (8.34pm AEDT)
Just before the break, the hosts get their reward: a goal from Jake Brimmer and a 1-0 advantage at AAMI Park. Ben Folami sent Marco Rojas into the box with the chance to score; Duncan did well to save from close range but the rebound fell to Brimmer who lashed the ball home.
GOAL VICTORY! But a VAR check ensues… OFFSIDE! (8.30pm AEDT)
Brendan Hamill thought he’d put the hosts in front, rolling his defender in the box before whipping the ball into the back of the net.
The goal stood originally before a VAR check found the defender in an offside position – there was no doubting the illegality of the Victory goal in the aftermath of VAR’s intervention as the goal was wiped off the scoresheet.
Ingham to the rescue as desperate goal-line block denies Victory the lead (8.24pm AEDT)
Arriving in the box with the goal at his mercy, Jason Davidson sent a low shot toward an unguarded net.
Ingham was on the floor as Davidson prepared to strike, involved in the coming together of bodies near the near post which took Duncan out of action.
But Ingham quickly got to his feet and darted toward the goal line to meet the Davidson shot, getting a foot on the ball and clearing the danger.
The Victory players and fans combined in uproar, demanding a goal be awarded – but replays showed Ingham’s intervention was on the right side of the line for the Jets.
A mishap in the Jets box! But Duncan survives the scare (8.05pm AEDT)
A lackadaisical Jack Duncan was almost caught out by Victory forward Francesco Margiotta, with the Jets keeper taking far too long to distribute the ball as the Italian striker closed in to intercept his attempt to play the ball out from the back.
It looked as though Newcastle would be made to pay for Duncan’s lack of conviction, but the ball squirmed away from Margiotta’s clutches as the score remained 0-0 at AAMI Park.
KICK-OFF: AAMI Park the venue as Victory, Jets engage in battle (7.45pm AEDT)
Mario Arques makes his starting debut for the Jets on their travels to AAMI Park. Melbourne Victory, meanwhile, return to the scene of their FFA Cup final triumph determined to end a three-game winless run in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
PRE-MATCH
The Jets are bruised from a 4-2 defeat at home to Melbourne City on Tuesday evening; Beka Mikeltadze found the back of the net for Newcastle to keep the pace in the Golden Boot race with star City striker Jamie Maclaren, who he now trails by one goal on the league’s top-scorers chart.
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