Title Defence In Tatters As Newcastle Fall For The Old 1-2 Yet Again

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday December 27, 2008

Brett Keeble

Central Coast 2

Newcastle 1

NEWCASTLE'S A-League title defence ended in more heartache last night when they lost to derby rivals Central Coast at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

The Jets gave up an early lead for the third time in four games after scoring a ninth-minute penalty and now have only the Asian Champions League to look forward to in the new year.

The home side's miserable night was compounded by what appeared to be serious injuries to young striker Marko Jesic and star defender Mark Milligan.

The Jets are rooted to the bottom of the table after Sasho Petrovksi, who has been linked to a move to Newcastle after this season, rammed home a fine near-post header in the 67th minute and substitute Matt Simon outmuscled two defenders to score the winner in the 80th.

Newcastle dominated the first 45 minutes of a typically spirited, often spiteful derby to lead 1-0 at the break.

Jets coach Gary van Egmond stuck with the starting side that beat Melbourne 4-2 last week, leaving James Holland on the bench.

Holland returned from the Netherlands on Tuesday after trialling with AZ Alkmaar and is likely to sign with the Dutch side next week.

Jesic, who signed a one-year contract extension this week, earned the penalty for Newcastle in the eighth minute when he held the ball up in the box near the byline while backing into Andre Gumprecht.

The German made minimal contact with Jesic as he fell to the ground, but referee Peter O'Leary pointed to the spot after some deliberation.

Joel Griffiths stepped up and blasted the ball into the top right-hand corner past keeper Danny Vukovic for his seventh goal of the season.

Jesic's night ended in misery seven minutes later when he left the field with a suspected torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He has already had reconstructions to both knees.

Matt Thompson, last week's hat-trick hero against the Victory, should have doubled the lead two minutes earlier when he charged down a clearance, but his shot went straight at Vukovic, who also blocked Griffiths's follow-up.

The Mariners, who rarely threatened in the first half, came out stronger in the second but appeared to be drifting out of the game when Petrovski arrowed home his header.

The Jets' night deteriorated further when Milligan hobbled off in the 73rd minute with a leg injury.

Van Egmond switched to a more attacking formation, but Simon exposed Newcastle's stretched defence to seal the victory with 10 minutes left.

The game ended in controversy when Mariners striker Dylan Macallister was red-carded following a scuffle after the whistle.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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