Newcastle have pulled off a sensational upset against Sydney FC, winning 2-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium over the second placed Sky Blues.
Will Dobson opened the scoring for the Jets in the 66th minute after a well worked team move involving Alex Badolato and Clayton Taylor, before Xavier Bertoncello’s stunning strike secured the points six minutes from time.
To make matters even worse for Sydney, Joe Lolley only lasted around 20 minutes in his comeback from a hamstring injury before having to leave the park with what looked like it could be a recurrence of the same issue.
The Jets were the better side from start to finish — belying both teams positions on the ladder — and when Dobson managed to take his goal at the second time of asking after initially being saved by Harrison Devenish-Meares it was no less than they deserved.
Newcastle have shown a propensity for both the ridiculous and sublime this season, and both words aptly describe Bertoncello’s incredible goal from the edge of the right hand side of Sydney’s area in the 84th minute.
Badolato put the 20-year-old homegrown prospect into a pocket of space but there it was all Bertoncello as he expertly shifted past Ben Garuccio and unleashed a 25 yard thunderbolt into the bottom right corner well past the reach of Devenish-Meares.
Badolato, Dobson, Taylor and Eli Adams were too much for Sydney’s midfield and back four to handle all game, while James Delianov kept his first clean sheet of the season aided by an Alex Tobin Medal vote getting performance by Max Cooper.
The only sour note for the Jets was an injury to captain Kosta Grozos, who tried to battle through what appeared to be a left shoulder injury but had to be removed in the 80th minute.
The Jets take on Macarthur on Boxing Day in their next game, while Sydney face their sternest test of the season up against ladder leading Auckland on Saturday December 27.
ALEX TOBIN MEDAL VOTES:
3. Will Dobson
2. Clayton Taylor
1. Max Cooper
