A GALLANT 10-man Newcastle Jets conceded a goal in the 118th minute to go down 3-2 to Brisbane Roar at Maitland Sportsground on Monday night and crash out of the Australia Cup.
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After playing the final 45 minutes a man down following a red card to captain Brandon O'Neill, the Jets looked headed for a penalty shootout.
But with two minutes in extra-time remaining, Roar replacement Alex Parson struck after the Jets failed to clear a ball in the box.
The Jets may have lost the match, but they lost none of the 2723 fans who turned out on a cold, wet night.
The home side produced some sparkling attack, especially in transition. They were shaky at the back at times but scrambled well and played with great desperation.
"I was very happy with the effort," coach Rob Stanton said. "It showed what I want the team to represent. We worked hard, played forward quickly and were aggressive with and without the ball. The young ones did that in spades.
"It would have been nice to go through, but I think the fans got the first look at what we are trying to do."
The score was locked at 2-all after a pulsating 90 minutes of end-to-end action.
Twice the Jets went ahead. Trent Buhagiar scored a transition goal in the 11th minute, which was cancelled out on the stoke of half-time by Carlo Armiento.
Rookie Clayton Taylor scored a wonder goal in the 58th, only for the Roar to respond five minutes later through Louis Zabala.
Macklin Freke was unbelievable in the Roar goals, making at least four top-draw saves.
There were chances galore in regulation time, but they dried up in extra-time as the frenetic pace took a toll.
The Jets were the third Hunter team to bow out of the Cup, following Broadmeadow Magic and Edgeworth Eagles.
They now have two months to prepare for the A-League season kick off.
The Jets had progressed to the round-of-32 after a dramatic qualifier against Melbourne Victory in Darwin, where they conceded two goals in stoppage-time, before winning on penalties.
Stanton, as he did in the win over Victory, went with a youthful starting XI.
Lachy Bayliss got the nod in the No.10 position and Taylor played in a front three alongside Buhagiar and Dane Ingham.
However, there was no Archie Goodwin (back), Reno Piscopo (calf) or Tom Aquilina (hamstring) who are sidelined with injury.
The Jets went ahead in the 11th minute with brilliant goal on the break to Buhagiar.
The striker played the ball wide to the right to Ingham and then pressed the nitro button and burst into the box. Ingham did the rest, swinging a cross in for Buhagiar to tap in.
Buhagiar nearly had a second a minute later. This time, right back Carl Jenkinson curled a pass in behind. Buhagiar got a touch but keeper Macklin Freke somehow kept it out.
The Roar keeper produced another stunner to deny Jenkinson in the 23rd minute, diving full stretch to his right.
It wasn't all one-way traffic. The Roar were equally dangerous down their right side and it took scrambling defence to keep the home side's advantage.
Roar defender Kai Trewin produced a Maradona 'Hand of God' moment, flicking on a freekick with his hand into the back of the Jets net in the 27th minute.
However, it didn't fool referee Ben Abraham, who issued a yellow card.
The Jets continued to live dangerously at the back.
The surface resembled a carpet, but drizzle in the afternoon made it greasy and hard for the players to get traction.
The equaliser came from the last play of the first half. Armiento whipped in an in-swinging corner from the right. Scott was bamboozled at the front post and palmed the ball into his own net.
The Jets continued to threaten on the break in the second half.
But they regained the lead in the 57th minute through piece of individual brilliance from Taylor.
The rookie collected a bobbling ball on the edge of the box, scooped it up and smashed a volley on the turn.
The lead lasted just four minutes.
From a freekick, the Jets failed to clear. The rebound fell to Louis Zabala, whose angled shot went in off the post.
Buhagiar had a header skim the crossbar and Taylor had a shot knocked on to the post by Freke as the chances continued to stack up.
Freke made another spectacular save in the 75th minute, tipping a Mauragis effort around the bar.
Just when you thought a goal was coming for the home side, O'Neill received a second yellow for a tackle on a runaway Ayon Majok.
JETS: Ryan Scott; Lucas Mauragis, Mark Natta, Phil Cancar, Carl Jenkinson; Brandon O'Neill, Callum Timmins, Lachy Bayliss; Dane Ingham, Trent Buhagiar, Clayton Taylor
ROAR: Macklin Freke; Louis Zabala, Tom Al;dred, Kai Trewin, Jack Ingert; Carlo Armiento, Joe Caletti, James O'Shea; Nikola Mileusnoc, Thomas Waddingham, Henry Hore
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
