COACH Ernie Merrick believes the Jets are ready to take on A-League arch rivals Central Coast after they disposed of a plucky Broadmeadow 5-1 at Magic Park on Wednesday night.
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Andrew Nabbout scored a hat-trick and Roy O’Donovan and Dimi Petratos each found the back of the net for a second straight game.
The Jets were sharper and played with a higher intensity than in the 2-0 win over Weston a week earlier.
They meet Central Coast Mariners in a closed trial next Wednesday and Merrick expects his side to rise again.
“The Mariners will be another good test,” Merrick said. “We want to step up again and will be playing against senior A-League players.”
The Jets were on the front foot from the get go. Still the scoreline did not do Magic justice.
They caused the Jets problems with their pace, especially early in the second half, and were rewarded with a goal to Scott Pettit.
“The quality of football from both sides was good,” Merrick said. “They had some really good patches and have some good young players. Magic are a good team and are well coached by Ruben. It was a good game, a good hit out.””
The Jets led 2-0 at half-time. The home side replied two minutes after the break, before the Jets broke clear in the final 20 minutes.
Merrick was particular happy with the improved performance in midfield and the combination of Ben Kantarovski, Wayne Brown and Dimi Petratos.
“Wayne and Ben controlled the middle,” Merrick said. “They broke up attacks, played out simply and kept possession. Dimi played in the No.10 position and his service was first class. The things I wanted to see an improvement in we did. The back four was rock solid. Roy scored a good goal and we started knocking in crosses… we scored five goals, you cant complain about that.”
The Jets opened their account in the 12th minute when Roy O’Donovan turned brilliantly on the edge of the box and fired a shot inside the right post.
Daniel Georgievski and Andrew Nabbout caused damage down the left.
Nabbout doubled the margin when he pounced on an error in the 25th minute.
Magic fought hard in the first half and were rewarded two minutes into the second when Pettit beat Jack Duncan to a ball over the top from Wade Southall and slotted home.
“We conceded a goal in the second half quickly through errors,” Merrick said. “Everyone is allowed errors. I wanted to see the response. The response was keep possession, don’t drop back, don’t change the game plan.”
"The things I wanted to see an improvement in we did."
- Ernie Merrick
Meanwhile, the Jets have appointed FFA national boys development manager Michael Cooper as the Techincal Director of the club’s academy.
The Jets will take over 11 of the Emerging Jets programs from Northern NSW on October 1.
A former player at English clubs Exeter City and Yeovil Town, Cooper has spent the past two year at the FFA.
“I am all about creating an environment that gets the best out of people and working hard towards our goals on a daily basis,” he said. “An attractive part of the role at the Jets is that I will be able to help shape and then lead the vision of the club’s academy. My strengths are facilitation and helping people develop, and I’m eager to leverage these strengths in Newcastle to ensure that we create an environment where our coaches and young players excel,” he said.
Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna said Cooper had been recommended by the FFA.
“An advantage of Mike coming to the Club is that he knows FFA’s systems,” McKinna said. “He also has a high awareness of the coaches in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area.”
Cooper will address current coaches from the Emerging Jets pathway on Friday at Speers Point.
