Rob Stanton’s reign as Newcastle Jets manager has got off to a winning start after his side overcame Melbourne Victory in penalties after extra time.
The Jets started the match with plenty of possession however central defender Phil Cancar was shown an early yellow card for a challenge on Victory attacker Kasey Bos.
The first chance of the match fell to Trent Buhagiar who couldn’t turn the ball in after a mishit cross in the 7th minute.
Newcastle took the lead in the 17th minute when Lucas Mauragis made a great run down the left wing to cross the ball in and find Buhagiar who tucked the ball past Victory goalkeeper Ahmad Taleb to make it 1-0.
The Jets continued to make chances happen and exciting youngster Clayton Taylor was unlucky to not find himself on the scoresheet when his shot was deflected away for a corner.
Reno Piscopo had the Jets next best chance in the 39th minute when he fired a shot on the edge of the 18 yard box which scraped the post.
Melbourne held on to keep the score at 1-0 as the teams headed into the break.
Victory started the match brightly in the second half and substitute Nishan Velupillay forced a smart reflex save from Jets goalkeeper Ryan Scott early on.
The Jets looked to have doubled the lead in the 60th minute when Buhagiar’s low cross was met at the back post by Archie Goodwin however the young striker was flagged for offside.
The striker was not to be denied a second time when a quick throw-in from Dane Ingham found Goodwin who took his chance again to make it 2-0.
As the match ticked over to injury time the match was flipped on it’s head when Velupillay capitalised on a loose pass to make it 2-1.
Victory was then awarded a spot kick with the last play of the match when Ryan Scott was judged to have fouled Velupillay in the box. Will Wilson stepped up to make it 2-2 and send the match to extra time.
As the match went to penalties, Ryan Scott made a save from Will Wilson before Jordi Valadon had his kick fly over the crossbar. Phillip Cancar stepped up to send the Newcastle Jets into the Round of 32 where they will meet Brisbane Roar on August 14. Details of the match and venue will follow.
