Newcastle Conquered On Robinson Return

[mack]

Carl Robinson returned to Newcastle and his team's hard graft was rewarded with a tight 2-1 victory.

A fixture with numerous subplots leading into the fixture that involved Robinson's exit from the Jets, future Wanderer Steven Ugarkovic agreeing to join the Wanderers next season and WSW's owner Paul Lederer taking part-ownership of Newcastle after the Jets A-league licensed was revoked. The on-field action saw the Jets & Wanderers both fail to win their opening games saw the two teams holding onto the 10th & 11th positions on the A-League ladder. Robinson handed out a starting debut to fullback Thomas Aquilina with Nicolai Muller being favoured over Bernie Ibini.

The Wanderers opened the scoring early through Ziggy Gordon. Tate Russell won a corner, James Troisi delivered a beautiful in-swinging ball on his left boot and Gordon attacked the near post before flashing a classic sliced header down and past the defender.

Muller scored what should have be the goal of the round in the 25th minute. Muller picked up the ball from a way out and smashed the ball like a rocket, beat Jack Duncan all ends up. 10 seconds later the VAR had put it's offside line in the wrong spot for Simon Cox's touch in the lead up and immediately ruled it out.

The Newcastle fans (including Andy Harper & Brenton Speed) thought the Jets should have had an penalty on the half-hour, only for the VAR to correctly show it wasn't a foul and it was outside the penalty area in the first place. Aquilina should have marked his starting debut with a goal to make the match 2-0 on the brink of half-time, Muller with more great work to put the ball on a silver platter for the youngest but the fullback's footing failed him at the moment of contact when all he had to do was a simple tap-in at the far post.

Tate Russell stepped up and gave the Wanderers their deserved 2-0 lead in the 58th minute. The Newcastle defence lost it's shape and a clearance mix-up allowed Troisi into the backfield with the ball, he fed the ball to Cox in the middle and the striker found the youngster steaming forward as he leathered a right foot thunderbolt past Duncan who had no chance. 

Newcastle pulled a goal back in the 70th minute, off a Dorrans foul out wide the Nigel Boogard the Newcastle Captain went forward and got a lucky flick off the top of his head that sliced to the far post and into the side netting to make it 2-1. Angus Thurgate followed up with a right footed shot that flew over the crossbar with a poor Bernie Ibini clearance at a corner.

Villain of the day Bernie Ibini was put through clean on goal and with no-one but the keeper to beat he fluffed his lines by scooping the ball well over the goal for a Newcastle goal kick. The poor finish let the Jets back into the game and they dominated proceedings heading into stoppage time. Remy Najjarine ran the attack for Newcastle, turning the Wanderers defence inside out but his team had trouble finishing the job. The home team threw the kitchen sink as they chased a late equaliser but ultimately a stoic defensive rearguard gave Carl Robinson's side their first points of the season and propelled them back into the top half of the A-League. Thomas Aquilina and Tate Russell were the standout performances for the Wanderers on both sides of the ball, and goalscorer Ziggy Gordon showed the kind of heart & leadership that had been sorely missing from the middle of the park last season. 

The Wanderers next game is against Sydney FC at the Homebush Olympic Stadium on Saturday January 16th with kick-off at 5:05PM.

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[Hughesy]

Tate Russell the love muscle!! What a player! Gets better every game. The youngsters are turning it on 🔥

[Keithie]

Aqulina has no confidence in his left foot seen it last week and again tonight with a tap on his left foot

[sonar]

5 minutes ago, mack said:

Thomas Aquilina and Tate Russell were the standout performances for the Wanderers on both sides of the ball, and goalscorer Ziggy Gordon showed the kind of heart & leadership that had been sorely missing from the middle of the park last season. 

Yep.This/

When you consider some of the tripe we have been dished up over the past 3 seasons you have to be happy with the commitment shown tonight. We ain't pretty at times but we are a hell of a better side in defence than last season even with the loss of Schwegler and Duke. A lot to be positive about tbh. Ziggy Gordon is going to be one of our best defenders....great signing CR.

Edited January 8, 2021 by sonar

[pseudonym]

Job done tonight

But the opposition is going to be harder from here

Need to work on defending free kicks

[102megan]

Aquilina bossed it!

 

Yeah the Maltese.  

[Tranquilo]

Tate had an awesome game Aquilina besides the tap in miss, was excellent i can see him keep Georgievski on the bench. Dorrans was much more solid but still not ready for 90 mins. Troisi went missing a bit and at times the Jets dominated the midfield we couldn't keep a few passes together. Ibini defended well but way off his past form he would of put away that goal a few years ago. 

Ziggy strong and becoming a fan favourite. The jets were unlucky in just scoring a goal although the free kick leading up to the goal Dorrans was actually pulled down.

Muller showed why he needs to start he was running the show and his shot was brilliant. Cox teamed up well with the rest.

The A League this season might be a lot more closer with no easy beats so we need to keep on top of our game. Good to see a large amount of travelling fans also plus the Wanderers Family banner!

[ANZAC]

Shoutout to the lads in Bay 10 last row, on the beers the full 90 to get out of wearing a mask

[tardotz]

Aquilina , Muller, Tate, Cox and Dorrans did very well. Ibini is still not at his best and needs to improve. 

Margush seems to be a good shot stopper but not decisive  in the 6yrd box especially cornett's and free kicks.

[Smoggy]

14 minutes ago, hughsey said:

Tate Russell the love muscle!! What a player! Gets better every game. The youngsters are turning it on 🔥

Tate has gone to first name on the team sheet these days. Great performance that is everything we have been lacking, the lad is making a name for himself. Fantastic to see.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Smoggy

[scarcev]

Tass, Aquilina, Tate, the kids really made the difference tonight, but we really need to be getting more out of Troisi, Ibini and Cox.  McGowan was also solid which is something I never thought Id say.  Yea it was 2-1 and we just hang on but we missed a tap in, a 1 on 1, had an offside (bees dick) cancelled out and created plenty even though we aren't at our best.  For the first time in a long time we showed commitment in defence to hang on, I reckon we draw/lose that game last season. Happy enough with the season start after two weeks.

[Paul01]

1 minute ago, scarcev said:

Tass, Aquilina, Tate, the kids really made the difference tonight, but we really need to be getting more out of Troisi, Ibini and Cox.  McGowan was also solid which is something I never thought Id say.  Yea it was 2-1 and we just hang on but we missed a tap in, a 1 on 1, had an offside (bees dick) cancelled out and created plenty even though we aren't at our best.  For the first time in a long time we showed commitment in defence to hang on, I reckon we draw/lose that game last season. Happy enough with the season start after two weeks.

I thought Troisi had a good on and off the ball. Cox was better this week with Muller starting.

[VedranRozic]

How good is our defence. Kept the Jets out and then scored both goals. 

[WanderingToqui]

Tate Russell's goal and build up is very similar to 1970 WC final.. Brazil vs Italy .. Brazil's right back Carlos Alberto scoring Brazil's 4th goal.

Go Tateinho Russell!!!!

 

[MathyouWSW]

A well deserved win in my opinion. It should of been at least 3-1 or 4-1 but a win is a win anyway. 

Superb performances from Russell, Aquilina, Massdoukoutas and Baccus. They are showing that the Academy is working and willing to provide the best players from the west which is excites me to see what the club will be in the upcoming future. It seems Georgievski might have some competition to keep his spot as the first left back after Aquilina's performance tonight.

Also, hats off to Margush. Really proving that he wants to be the second choice goalkeeper over Noah James. Superb performance from him as well.

Gordan is once again showing that he is our best signing this season. With the motivation he shown tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if the squad chooses him as captain sometime in the future if McGowan leaves the club.

It still feels weird to see Muller as a striker but if he can bang goals in the back of the net like he did, I'm all for it.

Cox's performance was average but he did help assist Russell's goal so that was good. 

Dorrans' penalty that lead to them scoring was b*llshit. That's now twice an opponent has scored off a free kick. 

Overall, I've seen some slight improvement in the squad. As I've said before, it'll be a slow start from the squad in the first few weeks but I feel we will be a top 6 squad. The game against the Smurfs will be a big hurdle and I'm looking forward to it.

Edited January 8, 2021 by MathyouWSW

[THEWANDERERSPOST]

Deserved and hard fought victory.

Russel, Aquilina MOTM's for me.

Margush looks solid and is very vocal. Mad some very good reaction saves, Covic-esque.

Mcgowan surprisingly knows how to defend.

Tass is so good, got to hold onto him for as long as possible.

Gordon is quickly becoming my favourite player to pull on the shirt in just 2 games. His absolutely nothing special but he gets the job done, is a total mongrel and is so passionate about the game and club. Got ripped by Yuel a few times but his tackling is ace.

Russel is so lethal in attack. I can't believe someone a few weeks ago said he had no attacking-prowess, he is an absolute star. Another player we should try and hold on to for as long as possible.

Aquilina great again, although my only issue is he did a few things I saw Wilmering do, like run up the line, stop, turn back and pass backwards. Made some really good runs through and should've scored. Has to start over Georgevski for me, be interesting to see how he fares in the derby.

I thought Baccus started poorly but quickly grew into the match. Some of his turns and passes are lovely. Sometimes he holds onto the ball too much and needs to offload quicker and cut out a few silly errors. Definitely taken his game to another level this season.

Dorrans was slightly better than last week although I still thought he was poor. I don't see the box to box midfielder we believed to have gotten. Hopefully he gets better from here, some of his passes were clever but like Baccus he dribbles too much and takes too long to offload the ball.

Troisi assisted Ziggy Gordon, created a few chances here and there. Satisfied with him at the moment but I know he can be better, think he will only improve from the 2 games we have seen of him so far. His work rate is very good in my opinion, he is always helping out in defence.

Cox actually played ok, but I still don't think it warrants a visa spot at the moment. He surprisingly got to long and through balls from our midfielders, and was smart enough to set up Russel just inside the box to score.

Muller was good, should of had a goal although given offside because of Cox. I think he is more influential however out wide or at attacking midfield. There were times he was through on goal and dragged it out wide like a winger rather than being direct to goal.

I know he hasn't done much in pre-season and has only been with the club for a few weeks or so, but something doesn't seem right with Ibini. He looks out of place and that he doesn't want to fight for the badge. In the crowd I was screaming for him to put just some bloody effort into pressing, he was just half heartedly jogging around not doing anything. He also should have buried that 1on1, I don't know what his preferred foot is but that shot was a joke. 

Yeboah's effort was slightly better, made a good recovery tackle at halfway, but he always seems on the ground, falling over and his touch isn't great. A bench spot for the season is warranted I think.

Saw those from the RED AND BLACK TV youtube channel at the game, as well as Turner and the ATB podcast members. Most surprisingly im pretty sure Hektik Hektor was at the game, haven't seen him in a while, think he might have been at the Kogarah derby but apart from that its been a while.

Overall defence looks solid, midfield and attack need a lot of work, however most of the players in those areas are definitely unfit and have not hit their stride yet. Hoping for a significant improvement and step up in the derby, looking forward to being there (even if its at Homebush again).

[sonar]

 

[Paul01]

36 minutes ago, MathyouWSW said:

A well deserved win in my opinion. It should of been at least 3-1 or 4-1 but a win is a win anyway. 

Superb performances from Russell, Aquilina, Massdoukoutas and Baccus. They are showing that the Academy is working and willing to provide the best players from the west which is excites me to see what the club will be in the upcoming future. It seems Georgievski might have some competition to keep his spot as the first left back after Aquilina's performance tonight.

Also, hats off to Margush. Really proving that he wants to be the second choice goalkeeper over Noah James. Superb performance from him as well.

Gordan is once again showing that he is our best signing this season. With the motivation he shown tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if the squad chooses him as captain sometime in the future if McGowan leaves the club.

It still feels weird to see Muller as a striker but if he can bang goals in the back of the net like he did, I'm all for it.

Cox's performance was average but he did help assist Russell's goal so that was good. 

Dorrans' penalty that lead to them scoring was b*llshit. That's now twice an opponent has scored off a free kick. 

Overall, I've seen some slight improvement in the squad. As I've said before, it'll be a slow start from the squad in the first few weeks but I feel we will be a top 6 squad. The game against the Smurfs will be a big hurdle and I'm looking forward to it.

Agreed. I just noticed that the Sydney Derby (as opposed to the Cumberland Plains Derby) starts at 5:05pm. This the ABC Free-to-air game. It is followed by the W-League Sydney Derby which starts at 7:40pm

[Generator]

If you missed the match - McDonald’s mini match (10 minute highlights package).

[marron]

Who's got a gif of tate steamrollering over the top of a jets player (forget who now).

Great game from all the top players from last week, Tass, Tate, Ziggy, Aquilina. Muller was good, I was starting to get to a "shoot *****" stage and he did, should have had it.  Also Margush had some great saves.

 

 

[Smoggy]

3 minutes ago, marron said:

Who's got a gif of tate steamrollering over the top of a jets player (forget who now).

 

 

 

At around 7:08 in this i think McDonald’s mini match 

[Sithslayer1991]

Tate and Aquilina absolutely amazing despite Jets being on top in the 1st half we were creating chances for ourselves and realy should have 3 or 4 by half time. Could have been more in the 2nd half but we made it difficult for ourselves the last 15 minutes. But lots mongrel inspired by Ziggy Gordon. 

We seem to lose control once Ibini and Yeboah were thrown in. We need more improvement from these 2

[Themumf79]

17 minutes ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

Tate and Aquilina absolutely amazing despite Jets being on top in the 1st half we were creating chances for ourselves and realy should have 3 or 4 by half time. Could have been more in the 2nd half but we made it difficult for ourselves the last 15 minutes. But lots mongrel inspired by Ziggy Gordon. 

We seem to lose control once Ibini and Yeboah were thrown in. We need more improvement from these 2

‘Yeboah’ and ‘lose control’ in the same sentence. Sounds about right....

[WSWJACK]

Are we missing Jurman?  ..............................NO NO NO !!   Tass is 10 times better in my opinion and McGowan has suddenly got better, Ziggy hats off to Robbo there cracking signing

last thing, Muller what's that white candy floss on your head? off to Troisi's barber tout suite!

[TwoLeftFoots]

Ibini dreaming of headlines, shot into the clouds.

Defence showing some grit and desperation., fantastic to see, but would rather they have quiet games.

[sonar]

 

[EmMac]

From what I saw  we looked likely to actually do something when we had the ball. That's more positive than last game and frankly the last few seasons. Onwards

[Macak]

Great passion,determination and grit by our mob. Good to see us fight hard for that win. Didn’t give up towards the end. Our youngsters were impressive. Rate and Aquilina did very well on either flank. 
 

did anyone else see that offside call for Aquilina and was he not onside? There is a jets player on the other side of the pitch that kept him onside. I am pretty sure of that, although can’t confirm 100% it is the case. Anyone???

Bring on the derby. 

[Erebus]

Not sure why many people are only singling out Ziggy when then entire back 3 were solid.

McGowan has stepped up since last season and Tass is showing why he should have started 2 seasons ago. Imagine the player he could be already.

Thankfully Ziegler is no longer a visa spot so him on the bench doesn't annoy me.

[WSWJACK]

Maybe i'm wrong was Boorgard being a bit of a dick last night?, seemed determined to piss Robbo off every time he went near the dugout, remember one camera shot with Robbo slowly shaking his head (probably thinking "Dick")

For balance Jets fans, that Yuel is going to be a good player one day, can be a handful for them this season.