Melbourne City triumph over Newcastle Jets in controversial clash

Newcastle marquee player Ronald Vargas was sent off in controversial circumstances against Melbourne City.

Ronald Vargas, right, of the Jets is sent off against Melbourne City. Picture: Getty Images

Newcastle marquee player Ronald Vargas was sent off in controversial circumstances as Melbourne City consigned the Jets to more A-League pain at AAMI Park.

The red card midway through Sunday evening’s first half set the course for an action-packed 2-1 City victory, the hosts recovering after goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic’s nightmare start left them trailing in the opening minutes. Riley McGree converted from the penalty spot in the 25th minute when a Luke Brattan corner deflected off Vargas’s arm.

The Venezuelan could hardly have escaped the line of fire and made his displeasure clear, telling referee Kurt Ams to “f*** off”.

It was later indicated that Vargas had been booked for dissent, despite the fact the card had already been brandished when he unleashed at the official. The Jets had the right to feel aggrieved given they had their own appeal for handball inside their penalty area dismissed minutes earlier. Brattan then made the Jets pay for a defensive lapse, firing past a slow- reacting Lewis Italiano after being gifted ample space just outside the box. The match started woefully for the hosts when Galekovic — boasting a league-high four clean sheets this season and coming off a starring role in City’s defeat of Western Sydney — conceded the easiest of goals to Jets striker Roy O’Donovan. Galekovic came forward to intercept a long pass from the Jets defence but misread the bounce, then collided with teammate Harrison Delbridge as he tried to head the ball clear, allowing O’Donovan to tap into an open goal. There was more confusion on the stroke of halftime when Newcastle’s Nigel Boogaard backed into Galekovic on the goal line, with the Jets awarded a corner despite the ball appearing to have crossed the line and City appealing for a free kick.

Tempers flared during the second half when Ritchie De Laet was booked for a late challenge on Jets defender Daniel Georgievski, sparking a mini-melee. The visitors continued to create chances, most notably when Jason Hoffman’s shot on goal from inside the box forced a terrific save from Galekovic. But fourth-placed City held tight to stay within reach of the top three and leave Newcastle languishing in seventh.

Meanwhile, Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque has welcomed a likely enforced rest in coming weeks despite being in arguably the best form of his distinguished career. A 35-year-old Brosque put on a goalscoring clinic when he recorded his first A-League hat-trick in Friday’s 5-2 win over Central Coast, including a deft chip for his third.

“Honestly, I ran out of legs there and I thought whoever was on me was going to catch me, so I thought I better get rid of it, have a shot and then get it over with,” Brosque said.

“In the end, it lobbed in nicely and helped us on our way.”

The three goals improved his season tally to six in 11 matches, surpassing last year’s total and keeping him on track to top a career-high 11 from their championship season in 2016-17.

However, the veteran striker is expected to be put on ice by coach Steve Corica as soon as this week as the Sky Blues attempt to navigate through a gruelling schedule.

Sydney FC have trips to Perth, Wellington (twice) and Melbourne over the next two months before beginning an arduous Asian Champions League campaign. But while buoyed by his rich vein of form, Brosque will embrace a breather.

“In my head after the last game (the previous week), I was thinking about resting myself regardless of what Corica said,” Brosque said. “I’ll definitely be available (against Perth on Wednesday).

“I feel okay, I came off with about 15 to go (against the Mariners). The last 15 minutes tends to make it really hard on the body so I feel okay after this one.

“I think it’s a good period and real testing one when we’ve got the Champions League coming up and it’ll show us what we’re up for with all the travel.”

Pencilled in to come off the bench this season, Brosque has been a critical part of the club’s strong start to the season that has them equal first on the ladder.

He credited the club’s coaching staff for helping to manage his body over the opening 11 rounds.

“It is difficult, to be fair, trying to keep it going because my mind was set on retiring at the end of last season,” Brosque said.

“I realise that teams like this only come around once in your career possibly. Certainly for me, I’ve never played with a team like this. So I wanted to hang around.”

AAP