The Newcastle Jets defeated Melbourne Victory 2-1 in a thrilling match in front of a boisterous home crowd. With goals from Beka Mikeltadze off a penalty, and Kosta Grozos with his first A-league goal.
The match began with both sides taking their time to settle into the game, on a hot and windy afternoon in Newcastle. It wasn’t long before both sides began taking their chances in attack.
The first chance for the Jets saw Beka Mikeltadze with a long ranger shot that blazed over the top of the goals.
The shots were also happening in Newcastle’s defensive half, with Victory’s Ben Folami’s shot in the 20th minute forcing an impressive save out of Jack Duncan.
The heat and windy conditions meant that there were drinks break in each half.
More action came after the drinks break which saw both Victory and the Jets having close chances at goal, with shots on target at both ends.
The jets were then awarded a penalty in the 35th minute after Jaushua Sotirio was brought down inside the box.
Beka Mikeltadze went on to convert the penalty in the 37th minute by burying his shot into the bottom left corner, past Victory’s goalkeeper Matthew Acton.
The Victory ended the half with a free kick from Jake Brimmer in close range, the shot was saved as Jack Duncan tipped it out for a corner, with the Jets leading 1-0 at half time.
The second half began with a goal to Victory, Nishan Velupillay putting his name on the scoresheet, to bring the score line level.
Newcastle shortly followed suit, taking the lead in the 58th minute, off a freekick from Beka Mikeltadze. He played the ball into Kosta Grozos who nailed the shot into the back of the net.
Newcastle made a few substitutions with Manabu Saito making his debut for the Newcastle Jets, along with Thomas Aquilina.
With the home side leading 2-1, Victory tried to score with multiple attempts towards the end of the game, however, the Jets defence remained strong to hold onto the win.
Newcastle’s next match will see them travel to Campbelltown next Saturday the 18th of February, to take on Macarthur FC at 5:00pm.
