Newcastle defeated Wellington 3-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium by riding a strong first half to start their 2022–23 A–League Men season with back-to-back victories.
James McGarry, Beka Dartsmelia, and Trent Buhagiar’s goals gave the team a boost, and coach Arthur Papas’ team will aim to play a more full 90 minutes against Western Sydney the following week.
After two draws and a loss, the Phoenix will next take on Melbourne City as they continue their search for their first victory of the year.
Despite the absence of their famous striker Beka Mikeltadze due to a quad injury, the Jets nearly took the lead through Jaushua Sotirio in the first minutes but it was disallowed due to offside.
Three minutes later, though, against his previous team, McGarry recovered from a heavy first touch to dance past Steven Ugarkovic and score his first ALM goal, giving the visitors no solace.
In the 16th minute, after exchanging passes with Reno Piscopo outside the penalty area, Dartsmelia added to the positive start by blasting a long-range howitzer past Oliver Sail.
Bozhidar Kraev’s shot into the lower corner of Michael Weier’s goal in the 39th minute gave the Phoenix what they thought was the spark they needed going into the half.
The Jets launched into a counterattack, and Sotirio crossed the ball to a diving Buhagiar at the top of the six-yard box, restoring the two-goal deficit two minutes later.
Buhagiar could have made it 4-1 in the 53rd after being played in behind the Phoenix defence, but his clear shot was off-target.
Oskar van Hattum, a substitute whose team was playing better in the second half, had a wonderful opportunity to cut the deficit in half in the 69th minute when he found space in the Jets’ box, but Michael Weier saved his attempt.
After losing to the Jets, Phoenix is still seeking its first victory of the year.
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