THE Newcastle Jets ground their way to a 1-0 pre-season victory over the Central Coast Mariners at Wade Park in Orange on Sunday.
Both sides had several chances to score, but the winner came in the 52nd minute when Jets defender Jason Hoffman, an off-season recruit from Melbourne City, leapt high above the Mariners’ defence to head the ball in after a corner.
At the other end, Jets keeper Mark Birighitti was in great form.
He pulled off a number of stunning saves, including blocking a Fabio Ferriera thunderbolt in the 28th minute.
‘‘He’s been very good for us,’’ Newcastle midfielder Ben Kantarovski said of Birighitti, who has returned to the club after being out on loan to Italian club Verese.
‘‘He’s worked hard and so has the rest of the team.
‘‘From the back to the front, we’ve worked hard on making sure we’re strong defensively and well disciplined and well organised.’’
Kantarovski said any win over Central Coast was a good one, especially as the club looks to rebound after a horrid 2014-15.
‘‘It’s good to get one up, especially in a derby,’’ he said. ‘‘It was a good hit-out and we’ll use that heading into the season proper.’’
Central Coast coach Tony Walmsley was left to rue several chances which went begging, including one in the fifth minute.
Pouncing on a poor Jets defensive play, Roy O’Donovan then beat Birighitti one-one-one before firing off a shot that hit the woodwork and deflected wide.
‘‘We’re disappointed we didn’t play as well as we anticipated we would,’’ Walmsley said.
‘‘I think the conditions played a part. We came here to be inventive and try and score goals, we couldn’t really get going but you could see the intent was there.’’
The Jets were denied on several occasions before a crowd of 2124.
Mariners keeper Paul Izzo produced a full-stretch diving save on a clever chip from Jets Serbian midfielder Enver Alivodic.
As time drew to a close, a deft cross from Anthony Caceres found the head of Jake Adelson, but Birighitti pulled off his last and most crucial stop.
source:theherald.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 