A Clayton Taylor double was not enough as the Newcastle Jets have gone down 5-3 to Melbourne Victory in the Victorian capital this afternoon.
The Jets got off to the perfect start when Jason Berthomier’s corner was met at the back post by Carl Jenkinson who headed the ball down for Mark Natta to tap in.
The home side responded two minutes later when Daniel Arzani managed to put in a low cross for Bruno Fornaroli to place his shot into the Jets goal and make it 1-1 inside the first ten minutes.
The Jets created another strong attacking chance when great footwork from Clayton Taylor made life tricky for the Victory defence. Taylor’s cross was picked up by Brandon O’Neill who saw his shot flash just wide.
Rob Stanton’s side continued to pile on the attacking pressure and Jason Berthomier was next to test the home side’s defence when his shot fizzed wide after taking a deflection.
Melbourne took the lead in the 31st minute when a cross in from the left was tapped home by Fornaroli for his seocnd goal of the match.
The Jets almost equalised instantly when Taylor when a free-kick on the edge of the box. Grozos saw his superbly taken shot tipped over the bar by Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo.
The Victory were awarded a penalty when the referee ruled on a handball against Jets defender Carl Jenkinson in the box. Fornaroli stepped up to complete his hat-trick.
The Melbourne marksman then grabbed his fourth at the end of the first half when he converted an outrageous rabona kick.
The Jets started the second half brightly and were awarded when Clayton Taylor volleyed home a cross to make it 4-2 in the 49th minute.
Newcastle continued to push forward on Victory’s goal and unfortunately were caught out on the counter attack when Nishan Velupillay ran half the length of the field clear on goal to make it 5-2.
Rob Stanton’s side continued to fight back and Clayton Taylor was unlucky to not have his second when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was ruled offside in he build-up.
Taylor did manage to grab his second when a well-worked counter attack with Trent Buhagiar saw the attacking midfielder finally get his brace.
Rob Stanton’s side showed plenty of fight but the home side held on for a 5-3 win.
The Jets return home to McDonald Jones Stadium for a doubleheader against the Western Sydney Wanderers on November 5.
