A-League: Newcastle Jets record second straight loss to Melbourne City

The Newcastle Jets may have been gone down to Melbourne City, but debutant Justin Vidic was a bright spark for the side. Hear what the 19-year-old can bring to the team.

The Newcastle Jets had a tough day out against Melbourne City. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

It was a disappointing weekend for the Newcastle Jets, with the men’s team going down 2-0 to Melbourne City in front of home fans at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The loss is the team’s second in a row and leaves them on ninth place on the ladder with five points from the opening six games.

Catch up with a wrap of the main talking points below with Jets Central.

YOUNG GUN STARTS WELL

It wasn’t all bad for the Jets, with the team discovering one for the future in striker Justin Vidic.

Starting up front in place of the injured Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, the 19-year-old looked sharp in what was his A-League debut, holding the ball up well and making runs into dangerous areas, particularly in the first half.

Justin Vidic was impressive in his A-League debut. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“I thought he did really well,” said Stanton. “I thought when the moment came he showed some maturity for such a young kid. I thought he used his body well, he got into some good positions. I think he’s a real talent.”

Reflecting on his debut, Vidic said he only found out he’d be starting the day before the game after a chat with Stanton at training.

“He just kind of pulled me over … and told me I was going to start the next day so I had to get my mind ready pretty quickly and prepare myself to start,” he said.

Vidic handled the speed and physicality of his debut well. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

While he had a few nerves before kick-off, the striker, who spent a couple of seasons in the Western Sydney Wanderers’ academy before playing NPL with Marconi, quickly found his feet at A-League level.

“The first couple of touches in the first couple of minutes of the game you adjust quickly to the pace of the game and you see what the players are like.

“We have a quality team, so being with the boys here gets you used to the quality of the opponents you’re going to come up against. It wasn’t a massive shock but the first couple of touches settled my nerves.”

Coming up against experienced centre-back pairing of Curtis Good and Samuel Souprayen, Vidic said he took plenty out of his debut.

Justin Vidic in action for the Jets. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“Melbourne City is obviously a really quality side, just the way they move the ball and the defenders, how experienced they were – their movements and their decision-making was pretty noticeable,” he said. “So picking up that sort of stuff was a really good experience for me.”

While showing signs of what he can do in his 60-minute debut, the young gun outlined how he thinks he can bring a different dimension to the side.

“You have to be physical, it’s a physical league, so holding the ball up is very important. Keeping it simple in the middle third and just keeping the ball, retaining the ball in possession.

The 19-year-old is hungry for more game time. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“When we get higher into the park I obviously like to take defenders on and I think I’m quite a creative player who can slip in balls, take on defenders one on one and gets shots off.”

And after a positive debut, what are his goals for the rest of the season.

“I just want to play as many minutes as I can and do everything that I can to help the team win. I think I’m a valuable member of the team and I can provide a lot of goals and assists,” he said.

“I obviously believe in myself fully and believe I can help the team, so I hope every week I can play.”

LACK OF ENERGY A CONCERN

It was a particularly disappointing second half performance from the Jets as the team chased the game against City.

Playing against a side on the end of a two-week road trip that had seen them play in Wellington and then Tokyo, it was Newcastle who looked jetlagged and behind the pace as they struggled to create chances.

It was a disappointing second half from the Jets. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

In fact, the team had just two shots in the second half as they struggled to play out from the back and get key attacking weapons Archie Goodwin and Reno Piscopo into the game.

“In the first half I think we did quite well. In the second half, for some unknown reason we dropped off,” coach Rob Stanton told Channel 10 after the game.

“Whether that’s fear or we just didn’t have a real crack? We spoke about it at halftime, we looked at things we did well, things we needed to do better. We needed to get up, (be) more aggressive and put pressure on them and I think we didn’t do that, we dropped off.”

TAKING CHANCES PROVES CRUCIAL

Clayton Taylor had the best of the Jets’ chances. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

While the second half was disappointing, the team had more than enough chances of its own to get on the scoreboard in the first half after playing some nice football in patches.

They went closest through Trent Buhagiar’s curling shot into the breeze that clattered into the crossbar on 32 minutes, however the Jets will be kicking themselves they didn’t capitalise on some other excellent opportunities to get on the scoreboard.

Clayton Taylor had the best of the chances, shooting just wide of the post with a shot in the 36th minute, before once again finding himself in a good position in the box, only to be dispossessed before getting a shot away.

The contrast couldn’t have been more stark as City ruthlessly capitalised on Jets’ errors for the both of their goals.

CONCERNS OVER LEAKY ROOF

Dane Ingham had a tough day at the office. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

While they may have had difficulties in terms of taking their chances, the Jets also have problems at the other end after conceding another two goals against City.

Both came from errors in possession, with right fullback Dane Ingham caught twice in position in his own half before City capitalised to score.

The first saw debutant Benjamin Mazzeo head in a pinpoint cross from Marin Jakolis, while it was goalscoring extraordinaire Jamie Maclaren who finished off the second after some nice lead-up play from Jakolis and Tolgay Arslan.

It gives the Jets the unwanted record of having conceded the most goals in the competition with 14.

And although those goals have been conceded from different parts of the park and for different reasons, the constant leaking will no doubt be a concern for Stanton as he looks to plug the gaps.