By Jasper Bruce
Western Sydney have kept their unbeaten start to the A-League Men season alive with a 2-0 defeat of Newcastle that confirms signs are good in Marko Rudan’s first full season at the helm.
The Wanderers have missed the finals every year since the 2016-17 season but now move to the top of the ladder with three wins from their first four games.
Calem Nieuwenhof, for the Wanderers, competes for the ball with Angus Thurgate, of the Jets.Credit:Getty Images
Western Sydney have kept clean sheets in all of their victories and Rudan will be pleased his new-look side had enough defensive resolve to repel the Jets’ usually efficient attack on Friday night.
Rudan rated the win as his side’s most polished effort of season to date.
“It was probably our best performance,” he told reporters. “Tactically we were fantastic. There’s a long way to go and a lot more improvement but tonight was great.“
The loss was Newcastle’s first of the season and means that in five outings they have yet to taste victory against the Wanderers at CommBank Stadium.
“We just got beaten by a better team in the key moments,” Jets coach Arthur Papas said.
Both teams lacked polish in the front third during a tense and physical first half.
Tempers threatened to boil over at a 32nd-minute corner when captains Marcelo and Matthew Jurman came together and exchanged words.
The Wanderers had the better of early chances, hitting the post twice before the half was out.
Brandon Borrello pounced on an errant Angus Thurgate pass but struck the crossbar with his strike, before Calem Nieuwenhof thundered the ball into the upright at close range minutes later.
It was third time’s a charm for the home side as Frenchman Romain Amalfitano took advantage of the wrong-footed Jets goalkeeper Michael Weier after Niuewenhof’s near-miss.
It took 44 minutes but the Wanderers had finally broken the deadlock to maintain their knack for opening the scoring this season.
Borrello was rewarded for a busy first half when he bent the ball into the net with a beautiful left-foot strike that extend the Wanderers’ lead in the 51st minute.
“We were confident at halftime that we could get back in the game, without a doubt,” Papas said.
“[But] the second goal takes the stuffing out of you because it comes from a poor transition.”
Reno Piscopo could have had the Jets back within a goal just before the hour mark but was denied by a superb save from goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.
The Wanderers’ comfortable lead gave them the confidence to attack more expansively, but the score remained 2-0 to the final whistle.
