Griffiths brothers put boot into Jets in Beijing

THE Griffiths brothers Joel and Ryan combined to sink the Newcastle Jets and their sibling Adam as Beijing Guoan won last night's Asian Champions League opener 2-0 at Beijing Workers Stadium.Ryan scored the opening goal of the match and then Joel, who was playing for Beijing after the Jets released him on a loan deal, delivered the final pass to substitute Du Wenhui, who doubled Newcastle's pain in the last minute of the match.Newcastle's new-look squad, in which Adam started in the midfield, struggled for cohesion last night and were on the back foot from the seventh minute, when Beijing opened the scoring.The Jets hung in and had a chance to draw level in the 86th minute, only for striker Sasho Petrovski to arrive a fraction late after a Donny de Groot cross.Newcastle's new signing from Perth, Socceroos defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley, endured a night he would prefer to forget and gifted Beijing their first goal.Topor-Stanley, who joined the Jets last month, turned over possession with a long-range pass, then was beaten on the outside by Beijing's dynamic midfielder Wang Changqing, who fired a pinpoint pass to Ryan Griffiths in the box.Ryan Griffiths, who made 52 appearances and scored eight goals for Newcastle United in the old National Soccer League, stabbed home a left-foot shot past Jets goalkeeper Ante Covic.The Jets were lucky they were facing only a 1-0 deficit at half-time.Wang appeared certain to score in the 27th minute when he was one-on-one with Covic, who produced a gutsy save from close range. Joel Griffiths also had a couple of promising first-half opportunities, only to fire one shot over the bar and have another deflected for a corner.Ryan Griffiths almost doubled his tally in the 36th minute when he pounced on a misdirected pass and blasted a left-foot shot just wide of the post.Newcastle, wearing an eye-catching new strip devoid of logos advertising major sponsor Centrebet, tried to unsettle their opponents with an aggressive, physical approach, and yellow cards were an inevitable result.Italian import Fabio Vignaroli collected a harsh yellow in the 25th minute when he flew high for a header and the ball touched his arm, then seven minutes later defender Ljubo Milicevic was booked for a foul.Midfielder Adam D'Apuzzo also earned a booking two minutes into the second half when he upended a flying Joel Griffiths, sparking an angry response.Petrovski was booked in the 89th minute for dissent.Jets coach Gary van Egmond replaced skipper Matt Thompson in the 68th minute with young striker Sean Rooney in an attempt to spark Newcastle's attack.Covic assumed the captaincy arm band.Newcastle's first genuine scoring chance came midway through the second half, when D'Apuzzo linked with Petrovski, who forced a desperate save with an on-target header.Joel Griffiths had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute after dispossessing Topor Stanley, but his shot was high and wide.The Jets now now regroup for their first home match in the ACL, against Korean outfit Ulsan Hyundai at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Tuesday.