A-League: Newcastle and Central Coast far from whipping boys

Newcastle and Central Coast are far from the whipping boys many predicted two months ago.

Newcastle goalkeeper Jack Duncan snatches the ball over Central Coast’s Jake McGing at McDonald Jones Stadium yesterday.

Central Coast coach Paul Okon claims he was told to “shut up” by the fourth official after questioning a decision that went against his side in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle in the F3 Derby at McDonald Jones Stadium yesterday.

After leading 1-0 an hour into a match they had largely controlled, the Mariners had to play the final 25 minutes with just 10 men after defender Liam Rose was sent off for a second yellow card following a handball just outside the box.

The decision, which came just a minute after the Jets’ Morten Nordstrand had cancelled out Jake McGing’s first-half goal, meant the visitors had to defend grimly against a relentless Newcastle side that searched desperately for a winner.

“I am sure this club is jinxed with handballs,” Okon said in reference to the Mariners being on the wrong end of a few decisions in recent weeks. “That red card impacts on what happens in the back half of the game. We needed to show character if we wanted to come away with something from the game — and we did.

“But there is no point in me having an opinion (about the red card) because it doesn’t count, it doesn’t make a difference.

“I asked the fourth official in the 85th minute regarding a handball down in the corner by the Jets. I asked him if it was a handball and maybe I was a bit emotional, but he told me to ‘shut up’.

“Look, the referee decides. If you look at every A-League game this weekend, the referee made decisions that impacted all four games and it happened again this afternoon.”

Asked if he would go through the official channels to get some clarification, Okon said he’d rather “me and you go for a beer to discuss it”.

“The only way is for me to run on the field and steal the whistle and that ain’t going to happen,” Okon said. “Anyway, who am I? I’m a rookie coach. We asked for some explanations a couple of weeks ago about four handballs (that have gone against his team). You, don’t want to hear the answers. I’d prefer you and me go for a beer and go over it.”

In the end, however, a draw was probably a fair result in what was your classic game of two halves. The Mariners were excellent in the first 45 minutes — “the best half of football we have played all season”, according to Okon.

But the Jets came back strongly in the second and may well have grabbed all three points had it not been for some outstanding goalkeeping from Paul Izzo and some desperate last-ditch defence.

Still, what this game showed is that neither side will be the whipping boys of the competition many critics predicted them to be at the start of the season.

Jets coach Mark Jones and Okon are making good progress with their respective teams and while they might not figure in the title race, they will be tough nuts to crack as the season goes on.

Both sides can hold their heads high after a compelling game in front of Newcastle’s biggest home crowd of the season, 11,238.

What appeared to be headed for one of the poorer games of the season after a low-key first 45 minutes, turned into an action-packed second half that provided plenty of action.

Rose’s dismissal came in the middle of a frenetic spell and just a minute after the Jets equalised. It was a crazy period of football that saw seven yellows, a red card and a goal in the space of 25 minutes.