Newcastle Jets have gone down 2-0 to league leaders Melbourne City in their Round 10 fixture at AAMI Park on Saturday evening.
Taking over the reins in place of Craig Deans, Ash Wilson named an unchanged lineup from the side who narrowly went down 2-1 to Melbourne Victory on this pitch in their last outing.
Despite having never beaten City, the Jets started brightly but it was the star-studded hosts who took the lead in the 7th minute courtesy of their Serbian star Milica Mijatovic, who cut inside and produced an unstoppable effort past Claire Coelho to open the scoring.
The Jets were dealt a further blow just six minutes later when Nicki Flannery was forced to leave the field, with Teigan Collister receiving an earlier than expected introduction in her place in the 13th minute.
Melbourne City dominated possession in the opening half, but struggled to break down a well organised Jets defence led by Cassidy Davis and Hannah Brewer, with Mijatovic’s goal coming from the only shot on target from either side in a tough opening half.
Like the first half, it was City who struck early once again, when former Jets captain Emily van Egmond found space on the edge of the area and arrowed her shot into the bottom corner past a helpless Coelho to make the scoreline 2-0 in the 50th minute.
With nothing to lose, the Jets pushed forward looking for a way back into the contest and Jenna Kingsley forced a good save out of Lydia Williams in the 54th minute, before Tara Andrews headed a Gema Simon corner wide two minutes later, but despite their best efforts, the home side stood firm and maintained their two-goal advantage.
Substitute Lauren Allen went agonisingly close to opening her W-League account late on as she dragged her shot just past the far post, but the Jets could not find a way past a watertight City backline as the hosts held on for a 2-0 victory to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Our Westfield W-League side now return home as we host Perth Glory on Thursday night at McDonald Jones Stadium in Round 11.
