Adelaide down Jets on back of Goodwin masterclass | OneFootball

Adelaide United defeated the Newcastle Jets 4-2 in a frantic affair at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night.

Goals to Craig Goodwin, Zach Clough, Nestory Irankunda and 17-year-old Luka Jovanovic sealed the win for the Reds, who climb back up to second place on the A-League ladder.

Jason Hoffman and Angus Thurgate netted for Newcastle, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Jets’ 10th loss of the campaign, leaving their win percentage at a paltry 35 per cent.

A helter skelter first half featured five goals, with three coming in a six-minute period.

Adelaide made more of the early running, looking to release Goodwin whenever possible. Coming off a big win against premiers elect Melbourne City last time out, the Reds surely came to the Hunter expecting to leave with the three points.

Carl Veart preferred Jovanovic to Hiroshi Ibusuki up front.

The Jets’ first real sight at goal was a speculative effort from Matthew Jurman, not the man who would usually be providing shots on goal.

Newcastle were playing with fire by allowing too much space to Goodwin, albeit on his right foot, and when a rebounded shot bounced back to the Socceroo – this time on his left – he rifled a powerful strike past Craig Duncan to give the Reds a 1-0 advantage.

Just two minutes later, Adelaide opened up the hosts far too easily before Craig Goodwin played an easy square ball to Zach Clough who had a simple finish from six yards out, the Reds doubling their advantage.

After a quarter of an hour the Reds had unleashed a powerful 1-2 punch, shocking the Jets and the home faithful.

But in another twist, Newcastle were right back in the contest through Jason Hoffman’s effort from the edge of the area after some good work from Trent Buhagiar. Three goals in four minutes had brought this contest to life.

Both sides showed intent to add to their tally as the end-to-end action continued at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The helpless Joe Gauci saw a powerful Hoffman strike glance off the crossbar and go over.

In a hammer blow for Newcastle, just before half-time 17-year-old Jovanovic opened his account for the Reds after Goodwin provided another perfect ball into the area, restoring their two-goal cushion.

It was a special moment for the youngster and Goodwin’s third goal involvement in the opening half.

However, there was more drama to come before the teams headed for the dressing room. Buhagiar’s ball across the face of goal found Angus Thurgate, who nipped in in front of Guaci to close the gap to one once more.

Just as Newcastle were making inroads, United had their fourth goal through Nestory Irankunda after yet another sloppy Jets turnover.

For all of their good work, Arthur Papas’ side had let themselves down too many times with sloppy play in midfield. The wounds were self-inflicted.

With 20 minutes to go United were now in full control as they looked to close out the game.

Irankunda had a late chance to double his tally and beat Duncan but was denied by the woodwork.

It finished 4-2 in favour of the visitors, with Goodwin recording a goal and two assists in a dominant performance from the 31-year-old.

Key Takeaways

Reds continue top-two push

It’s another good result for Adelaide, who now sit pretty in second place, trailing Melbourne City by just three points, with the premiers elect boasting a game in hand.

Currently experiencing a six-season championship drought, it has been a long time between drinks for Veart’s side. Could this be the year when Adelaide United put it together and bring the toilet seat back to South Australia?

Goodwin is the best player in the league

2022 was a big year for Craig Goodwin. The question now is, how much can he achieve in 2023?

It’s hard to beat scoring on the biggest stage of all – the FIFA World Cup – for your country, but delivering a championship to Adelaide United would also be a hell of an achievement. With a goal and two assists to his name tonight, the winger was involved in everything good for the Reds. He is absolutely on fire right now.

Beaten Jets can be proud of their effort but work to be done

Credit must go to Newcastle for responding to adversity tonight. Twice they were down by two and managed to score to get themselves back into the game. However, some of the defending that led to Reds’ goals was comical.

Tonight’s result means Papas’ men will remain on the outside of the top six looking in, with plenty of work to do to get back into the finals places. Ten losses from their 20 games really isn’t acceptable. The Jets’ win rate for the season now stands at an anaemic 35 per cent.

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