Spotless Stadium pitch the talking points as Jets beat Wanderers

IT was a case of not so Spotless for Western Sydney, who played second fiddle not only to Newcastle but also a “carpark” pitch littered with the remnants of a concert.

It was a case of not so Spotless for Western Sydney, who played second fiddle not only to Newcastle but also a “carpark” pitch littered with the remnants of a concert.

The Jets, until last night languishing in second-last only on goal difference, secured a valuable 2-0 win on the road to kick-start their season, with Jason Hoffman and Ronny Vargas goals the difference amid a glut of wasted chances.

But the night will be remembered less for the Wanderers’ first home fixture and more for the disgraceful state of Spotless Stadium’s surface, which was patchy and discoloured and covered in shards of plastic cups from the RNB Fridays event held last Saturday.

Football Federation Australia said they’d inspected the pitch on Tuesday and Thursday alongside groundskeepers and stadium and Wanderers officials, while the Wanderers trained there on Thursday.

Shards of plastic littered the pitch before Friday night’s clash.

The understanding was that Friday’s wind storms had swept remaining debris down from the stands.

Stadium officials spent the good part of an hour pre-match scouring the field for the small sharp chips before the match commissioner deemed it safe for play.

The very fact another sweep was conducted at halftime suggested safety was not completely guaranteed.

Jets coach Ernie Merrick even joined the treasure hunt and showed his findings – a handful of plastic shards and even a metal screw – to Fox Sports’ pre-match show.

“I’m not sure if you could call it a football pitch, it’s more like a carpark,” Merrick said.

“Of course I am (worried) but the match commissioner says it’s playable so it’s playable.”

After the game Merrick described the surface as “a disgrace” and feared Daniel Georgievski had torn his groin late where the hard surface gave way to patched-up grass.

“I really feel for Markus Babbel,” he said.

Jason Hoffman of the Jets (right) competes for the ball with the Wanderers’ Brendan Hamill (centre) and Jordan O’Doherty (left) on Friday night. Picture: Getty Images

“He’s come from Germany, the Bundesliga, he’s played at Liverpool a wonderful player, and he’s come over here and had to suffer the VAR decision, a red card and then he’s had to play on a pitch like that. It’s pretty tough for him.

“There’s shards of plastic on the ground, screws. I hope they got a 90 per cent discount on the rent.”

Babbel was more philosophical, reasoning the Wanderers’ primary issue was the lack of goal despite their 18 shots.

“It wasn’t the best pitch to be fair but it is like it is, this wasn’t the problem for us today,” Babbel said.

“I hope next home game the pitch looks a little bit better.”

The conditions visibly affected the players’ balance and the ball’s movement, but it didn’t stop a stack of chances, and the Wanderers might have taken the lead inside 10 minutes.

In-form Socceroo Josh Risdon delivered an acutely angled cross that fell near-perfectly to Abraham Majok on the goal line, but the youngster appeared not to anticipate the dip.

Wanderers striker Oriol Riera (left) is challenged by Newcastle’s Lachlan Jackson on Friday night. Picture: AAP

Nevertheless, the goal-bound ricochet off his face forced a fine reflex save from Glen Moss, who stuck out a glove in the nick of time.

Fifteen minutes later Majok was left to rue the near-miss as the Jets poured upfield against the flow of play and Dimi Petratos teed up Nikolai Topor-Stanley.

The defender provided a clever assist, playing to Hoffman just in time for the frontman to stick out a foot, and though Vedran Janjetovic got a touch the ball trickled over the line.

Majok, who was otherwise bright, ran down a ball at the byline and made the cutback but support hadn’t followed for a would-be finish.

Oriol Riera re-took possession but a few passes later, when Raul Llorente delivered the ball to the back post, the Spanish striker failed to steer his header in.

The Wanderers’ Manyiel Riel Majok is pursued by Newcastle’s Daniel Georgievski on Friday night. Picture: Getty Images

It was Riera’s second miss of the first half, having stabbed wide in the opening exchanges, and the Jets entered halftime with their lead intact.

They might have doubled it three minutes into the second period when the silky Vargas turned and picked out Hoffman, whose shot was denied by a terrific Janjetovic save.

Moments later Risdon furnished his side with another pinpoint cross but Bruce Kamau’s head failed to connect.

More opportunities came and went. Then, in the 94th minute, Petratos blazed towards goal, waited for Vargas’ arrival and squared unselfishly for the Venezuelan to finish.

“I thought they deserved something out of the game,” Merrick said.

“I thought we played our worst football and we won. And a clean sheet as well, I couldn’t believe it.”

NEWCASTLE JETS 2 (Jason Hoffman 25m, Ronald Vargas 90+4m) WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 0 at Spotless Stadium. Crowd: 10,548. Referee: Jumpei Iida.

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