The Newcastle Jets secured their first win since round 14 after an very impressive 3-0 home win over the New Zealand Knights with a dominant display at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
The win was secured by a late Haliti double and the win has them just one point behind second placed Sydney FC who have a game to play against the Central Coast Mariners.
The Jets lined up with a 3-5-2 formation and had Nick Carle in a central midfield role and Matt Thomson playing on the left side of midfield.
The NZ Knights had a 4-3-3 formation. Yes, three up front - with Neil Emblen in the centre of midfield.
In the early stages both teams had their moments. The very fast Jeremy Brockie whipped in a cross the the 6th min for Reddy to save, six mins later he broke down the right hand sideline but Allan Picken stepped in with a timely tackle.
The 10th min saw a Vaughan Coveny cross put out by John Tambouras for the first corner of the game which Carle swing in for Picken who headed on to Coveny who headed wide. Five mins later a Matt Thomson through ball found Coveny but his low shot along the ground from a acute angle saw Glen Moss save.
The 17 min saw Steve Eagleton exchange passes with Thomson, Eagleton's cross was cleared by Ben Collett for a corner, which saw the corner count 4-0 to the Jets.
The 19 min saw Ned Zelic go for a rare venture into the opposition half and a foul on him at the edge of the penalty area brought a free kick which Carle curled in left footed and found Ante Milicic to head past Moss, for the first goal, 1-0 to the Jets.
The goal spurred the Jets on and the following 15 mins saw the Jets dominant. A Carle through ball for Coveny saw him on a one on one with Moss, but the Referee Perry Mur ruled he had fouled defender Frank van Eils.
The 22 min saw a Emblem shot from 30 metres just wide of the upright, two mins later a exchange of passes between Carle and Johnson saw Carle shot just over the cross bar from the edge of the penalty area.
The 28 min saw a neat Jets passing move which found Thomson on the edge of the penalty area his cross found Eagleton who chested down for Milicic to shot, his powerful shot was deflected just wide of the far upright. Five mins later saw Thomson through on goal but his first touch let him down and the defence cleared the danger.
The NZ Knights fought back bravely in the last ten minutes of the half. Cole Tinkler came off injured in the 26th min and replacement former Novocastrian Joshua Maguire whipped in a dangerous cross in the 32 min which was cleared by Picken.
Maguire in the 38 min then made a fierce 25 metre shot heading for the top right hand corner only to be tipped over by Reddy. The 40 min saw a 30 metre shot fom Kris Bright go 4 metres wide of the upright and the half closed with a Brockie run to the by line his sharp cross was cleared by Zelic.
The second half commenced with Carle drawing four defenders then back heeling to Eagleton whose cross is cleared by the defence.
The NZ Knights had Emblem now playing in defence and Ziaobin Zhang had replaced Frank van Eijs during the half time break, he immediately went on a run in which he turned two defenders inside out but lost the ball at the vital moment of shooting.
The 51 min saw a long Carle run ending in his shot from the edge of the penalty area finishing wide of the upright. Five mins later a Stuart Musialik through ball found Thomson clear on goal and for the second time in the game his ball control saw him lose possesion. A min later and a Milicic pass saw Carle on goal but he slipped over while attempting to score and Emblem cleared.
On the hour the pace of the game had slowed considerably and perhaps Richard Money could of brought his subs on earlier, Wheelhouse (71'), Haliti (78'), Elrich (82') all looked pacy and effective after coming on. When asked of this at the post match press conference Money simply replied ' What do you think?'.
The 65 min saw a Jets passing move which contained 30 passes but the move was broken down with no shot at the end of it.
Allan Picken in the 77 min had a fierce strike from outside the penalty area which Moss did well to save.A min later Maguire was still full of running for the Knights and his low and hard 25 metre free kick went just wide of the near upright.
The 80 min saw the always dangerous Zhang running at the defence and shot wide from the edge of the penalty area. A min later saw Thomson hold the ball up and pass to Wheelhouse whose high shot went wide of the far upright. The turning point of the game came in the 84 min, with the Jets holding on to a 1-0 lead, A Maguire cross found the head of Bright, he mistimed his header directly in front of goal and just 3 metres out, the ball harmlessly went out, a min later Paul Kohler took the ball upfield from his own half he passed to Labinot Haliti who struck a rocket past Moss from 30 metres and crashed into the roof of the net.
The goal will be a contender for goal of the year. He ripped of his jersey and did a small lap of honour in front of the cheering home fans. Unfortunately he was awarded a yellow card for his efforts for shirt removal, and it was the only yellow card given during the night in what was the best moment of the night - surely common sense could prevail. Its 2-0 to the Jets.
The 86 min saw Jasper fire a 25 metre effort which is going in the top left hand corner but Reddy is able to tip the ball over.
The 91 min sees a Milicic flick to Haliti who hits a low shot from a acute angle which goes under the body of Moss. Its suddenly 3-0 to the Jets.
The final whistle brought wild cheers from the home fans and disappointment for the visitors who didn't deserve a 3 goal defeat.
What the coaches/players had to say:
Richard Money:
'Had to work hard' 'We tried to walk the ball into the net' "3-0 is good for our goal differnce' 'It was a special goal'.
'Hopefully we will be allowed to train on the EAS, currently we are not allowed to'.
Nick Carle:
'They have worked hard on their defence' 'I am enjoying playing in this central midfield role' ' We have a hard 3 weeks ahead of us - we can finish second'.
John Adshead:
'We had a bad 20 mins in the first half'. '10 of the squad is under 23' ..... 'Tinker and Collet are in hospital with injuries.'
Darren Bazeley:
'We lack the confidence to win' 'We feel as if we should of got points this week and last week'