The Newcastle Jets returned to Hindmarsh Stadium for the second time this year still reeling from last weeks 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Perth Glory. The return of five regulars from injury and Socceroo duty boosted the Jets squad for this clash against league leading Adelaide United.
Adelaide fans turned up in large numbers overwhelming the ticketing officials at Hindmarsh Stadium. When the game kicked off there were thousands of fans still queuing up for tickets outside the ground. It is believed some fans did not get into the ground until over 30 minutes after the kick-off. The official attendance of 13,182 could have been higher but for the fans who opted to go home rather than endure the long queue for tickets.
The game started at a rapid pace with a shot from Adelaide striker Qu deflected out for a corner in the first minute. Qu's corner was aimed for the front post but was easily cleared by the Jets.
In the 5th minute Jets midfielder Johnson cut out a poor ball by young Adelaide fullback VanDommele. Johnson put Thomson through down the flank. Thomson cut the ball back to the waiting Hailiti who shot wide.
A few minutes later Adelaide's Carl Veart was in the action when he pounced on a poor pass by Picken. As Veart ran goal wards, Picken quickly recovered and put in a crucial tackle to block Veart's effort on goal.
The fast paced action continued at the other end though Haliti. From out wide he cut the ball inside to Carle who propped then sent his shot flying over the bar from the edge of the box.
A minute later it was Socceroo Jade North's turn to get down the flank. North's cross looked very meek as it dribbled along the ground. First Valkanis and then Rees had a go at clearing the ball but both completely missed the ball which then fell to Jets poacher Ante Milicic. Milicic smashed the ball goal wards only for Adelaide's goalkeeper Beltrame to get his legs to the ball. The ball rebounded off Beltrame into Adelaide midfielder Matt Kemp who could do nothing as the ball then rebounded off him and into the back of Adelaide's goal. 1-0 to the Jets.
Matters really turned sour for Adelaide in the 21st minute. Jets Richard Johnson and Nick Carle were giving Adelaide a torrid time in the middle of the park. It was Johnson who hit a great long ball to Milicic own the left flank. Milicic squared the ball back but Adelaide's Aloisi intercepted the pass. But Aloisi passed the ball back straight into the path of Jets Nick Carle. From just inside the box the Jets midfielder powerfully curled the ball into the back of the net with the outside of his left boot. 2-0 to the Jets.
The stunned Adelaide crowd sprung into life in the 24th minute when Jets keeper Reddy clashed with Adelaide defender Rees after an Adelaide corner. A spectacular melee of players threatened to boilover into a brawl but the calm heads from both teams prevailed. Reddy and Rees earnt themselves a yellow card each for their roles in the incident.
Nick Carle was the architect of another Jets opportunity in the 32m minute. Carle hit a free kick to the back post where Paul Kohler struggled to get to the ball. Kohler got his boot to the ball but could only turn it into the side netting.
Minutes later Adelaide had a good chance to pull one goal back. Adelaide's Carl Veart was being kept quiet by Jets defender Jade North. But Veart found some room out wide and crossed the ball deep into the box to the un-marked Matt Kemp. Fortunately for the Jets, Kemp miss-controlled the ball and a good opportunity was wasted.
Next it was Qu's turn to miss-control the ball a minute later. Qu broke through the Jets defense and attempted to chip goalkeeper Reddy from out wide. But an embarrassed Qu only succeeded in scuffing the ball out for a goal kick.
Adelaide kept coming at the Jets and was finally rewarded in the 37th minute. Adelaide's captain Aloisi had been struggling all game and was clearly not 100% fit. Yet he showed his class when he hit a perfect cross from out wide into the box. Adelaide's leading goal scorer - defender Valkanis. Valkanis rose above the pack and powerfully headed the ball home from the penalty spot. A relieved Valkanis had made amends for his earlier mistake and Adelaide was back in this game. 2-1 to the Jets.
Adelaide had the Jets camped in their own half in the closing minutes of the first term. The final minute saw two corners cleared by the Jets before Carl Veart flashed a header just wide of the upright. At half time the score was 2-1 to the Jets.
The second half started with the game delicately poised - Newcastle were playing well and had the lead but Adelaide are a team of fighters and they would not want to lose in front of this big home crowd.
Adelaide's VanDommele almost gifted the game to Jets in the 46th minute. As the Jets Parisi surged goal wards he was clattered from behind inside the penalty box by the young defender. But VanDommele must have got something on the ball because he escaped with only giving away a corner.
Jets midfielder Thompson was the first to test goalkeeper Beltrame in the second half. He shot meekly from the edge of the box straight into the big arms of Beltrame.
Two minutes later it was Johnson's turn to get in the action. He crossed the ball to the back post with the onrushing Parisi only inches away from prodding the ball into the back of the Adelaide goal.
In the 55th minute Nick Carle made space for himself on the edge of the box and shot high and wide.
In the 67th minute Qu earnt Adelaide its second corner in less than a minute. Qu's took the corner and Jets defender Corbo and goalkeeper Reddy tripped over each other and the unbalanced Corbo then headed the ball into the back of his own net - Hindmarsh Stadium erupted - Adelaide had drawn level.
But Adelaide's joy would only last momentarily. From the kick-off the Jets immediately earnt a free kick out wide. Nick Carle hit a beautiful free-kick straight to the head of Ned Zelic. Zelic outjumped the struggling VanDommele to head home the Jet's third goal of the game - 3-2 to the Jets.
As Adelaide pushed forward in search of an equaliser the Jets were finding increasing gaps in the Adelaide backlines. First it was Carle who shot just wide from the edge of the area in the 71st minute. Then in the 84th minute Parisi hit a long ball to Jade North. North found Milicic on the edge of the box, Milicic propped, turned before squaring the ball to the marauding Carle coming from deep. Carle shot with only Beltrame to beat but Beltrame pulled off a great save to keep Adelaide in the game. It was Beltrame to the rescue again moments later. Parisi beat two Adelaide defenders on the edge of the box before hitting a powerful strike that Beltrame got his hands to.
In the 88th minute it was the turn of Adelaide's substitutes to almost grab an equaliser. Dodd did some good work out wide before crossing the ball deep to Pantelis. Pantelis hit the ball first time with a left foot volley that goalkeeper Reddy could only palm away to safety. The Jets quickly counterattacked when defender Corbo caught Carl Veart on the ball. Corbo passed to Milicic who set Carle through the Adelaide defense. Carle smashed the ball low and hard from just inside the box giving Beltrame no chance - 4-2 to the Jets and it was game over for Adelaide.
The Jets should come away from Hindmarsh very pleased with their performance against Adelaide. While Adelaide tried valiantly they were outplayed in the middle of the park and tactically out manoeuvred by the Jets. Newcastle coach Richard Money is a very experienced coach and he had done his homework on Adelaide. The Jets closed down Adelaide's midfield trio of Costanzo, Aloisi and Veart giving them little space and no time on the ball. With its midfield closed down and quick flanking midfielders of Dodd and Brain missing through injury, strikers Qu and Rech were left isolated and in-effective up front.
The positive for Adelaide was even though they had not played well they did have enough chances to win this game. If it was not for some un-characteristic defensive errors Adelaide would have come away with at least a point from this game.
What is most impressive is the rapidly improving standard of the A-League. As each week passes the quality of play in the A-League is rapidly improving as teams develop and individual players get accustomed to the higher standards required. This high standard of all the teams is being reflected in the variability of results with only New Zealand being the exception but even they will improve once they get over their injury woes. All the signs are pointing towards a crackerjack A-league final series.
Best for Adelaide was goalkeeper Beltrame. He performed consistently all game. Midfielder Costanzo toiled hard before succumbing to injury.
Best for Newcastle was double goal scorer Nick Carle. He was well supported by Richard Johnson and Matt Thompson in midfield. Milicic was always dangerous up front while Zelic marshalled the backlines and Corbo was impressive in his debut.