Newcastle Jets overran Western Sydney Wanderers with a 2-1 win at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Mark Natta’s close-range finish followed Eli Adams’ fifth goal of the Isuzu Ute A-League season as Newcastle extended their club-record unbeaten run to 10 games.
The win keeps Newcastle top of the Isuzu Ute A-League table for another weekend on 40 points, ahead of Auckland FC on 35 with a game in hand.
Wanderers nearly grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser as goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, up for a late set piece, forced a save from his counterpart James Delianov which was parried into the crossbar.
Bozhidar Kraev’s first-half opener for Wanderers had challenged the home team but Wanderers were unable to build on the Bulgarian’s 20th-minute header.
Kraev scored from Wanderers’ first shot on target as he leapt above Daniel Wilmering at the far post to head in Ryan Fraser’s cross from a short corner routine.
Newcastle had 61 per-cent possession to get their passing game going in the first half but only put two of seven shots on target.
It was a different story just 103 seconds after the re-start as Clayton Taylor’s tumbling cross met Eli Adams perfectly as he beat Steven Ugarkovic to the ball at the right-hand post for a tap-in.
Clayton Taylor shot agonisingly wide to the left after a dash through the middle of the pitch in the 58th minute.
And as Newcastle pushed for a winner the decisive goal would arrive in the 77th minute as Mark Natta tapped in following a penalty-box scramble.
The goal was Natta’s third in 104 A-League games and first since February 1 last year. One has to go even further back to find Newcastle’s last come-from-behind win in the league, to October 2024 and a 2-1 triumph against Macarthur FC.
Wanderers had threatened to climb into eighth while holding the 1-0 lead, but will spend another week in 12th and last on the table with 20 points behind Wellington Phoenix’s 21.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Newcastle Jets star Eli Adams.
Newcastle Jets coach Mark Milligan.
Western Sydney Wanderers coach Gary Van Egmond.
