2 days Ago By Josh Callinan
JETS coach Rob Stanton summed it up by saying: "We failed in being ready to play and we got caught out". Login or signup to continue reading Newcastle had more possession, close to triple the amount of passes in the opposition half and almost double the shots, but Wellington walked away from Sky Stadium on Saturday with all three competition points. And a big part of the 2-1 damage was done before fans in the stands had even taken their seats, with Golden Boot leader Kosta Barbarouses scoring his 99 th A-League Men's goal early and from distance.
The veteran forward created something out of nothing - intercepting a loose pass from Jets defender Mark Natta on halfway, taking one touch and firing from just inside the centre circle. Barbarouses' lobbed shot sailed over the top of an outstretched Newcastle keeper Ryan Scott and into the back of the net as the clock struck two minutes. A low drive from Paulo Retre (Phoenix, 59 th minute) and a close finish by Ben Gibson (Jets, 73 rd minute) essentially cancelled each other out during the second half, ultimately leaving the visitors one down and with a 2-6 record so far this season.
"I don't think you can win a game in the first two minutes, but you can almost lose a game," Stanton said during the post-match press conference. "And I think we did a pretty good effort to lose a game in the first five minutes. We were passive with our passing and no conviction at the start.
"I had a gut feeling they would sit a little bit and when they would release players with pressure. We went through it over and over again. "And again players weren't ready to play and we paid the price for it and then we're playing catch-up football.
"Credit to them for not panicking, that's the one thing we've matured a bit. There's areas of our game we need to get better at - ready to play, ready to start. "Managing games, we've improved in that area, but today we failed in being ready to play and we got caught out.
" Newcastle enjoyed 55 percent of possession, which was much higher with four corners inside the opening 15 minutes, produced 405 passes in Wellington's half and had seven of 20 shots on target. Despite those statistics it was the Phoenix who snapped a three-game losing streak, Stanton being left to lament falling further behind the ladder's top six. "Looking at the numbers I think we had 20 shots, seven on target, three big chances," Stanton said.
"I think we did enough, well we didn't do enough, we created enough to possibly get a win or a point out of the game. "But when you look at it at the end of the day, you actually haven't done enough because you haven't done it." It was the second time this campaign Newcastle have lost coming off the bye and were also unable to capitalise on a previous win, having beaten Macarthur (2-1) in round two and most recently going 4-0 against the Glory in Perth on December 14.
Gibson's goal for the Jets across the Tasman was his third in the last two outings, having netted a double in Western Australia. A few moments later, Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi deflected a Gibson snap just wide of the left upright. "The good thing is we created plenty of chances, it's just a matter of that moment, that instinct to finish it," Stanton said.
"Look at someone like Ben Gibson, who doesn't have the exposure as what others have had and he's been asked to step up. I think he's doing a terrific job. "For me to get him to do that straight away is difficult.
He might have done it in the state league, but in the A-League it's a little bit different. "I feel like when we play we can beat anyone, but you've actually got to do it. We set ourselves up to do it, but again big moments let us down.
We let ourselves down." Brazilian import Wellissol was introduced in the 66 th minute while Will Dobson and Justin Vidic were part of a double substitution closer to full-time. Jets academy graduate Christian Bracco, 20, remains uncapped after being named on the bench.
Injured duo Kosta Grozos and Lachlan Rose both didn't feature. It was the 50 th A-League Men's clash between the clubs with Wellington now in front 26-17 overall. There have been seven draws.
Newcastle now face three fixtures in quick succession - starting with Sydney FC at home on Saturday (January 4) and followed by Brisbane away next Tuesday (January 7) before welcoming Macarthur to McDonald Jones Stadium on January 12. My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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