Jets complete Roar clean sweep

The Land of the Rising Sun came back to haunt Brisbane Roar once again on Sunday afternoon as the A-League’s first Japanese referee handed Newcastle Jets a dubious penalty that decided the match at Suncorp Stadium.

Adam Taggart’s conversion from the spot on the hour mark was as deadly as the Jets’ form against Brisbane, seeing them round out a perfect record of three wins this season.

But it was Takuto Okabe, refereeing his first A-League match as part of an exchange program with the Japanese Football Association, who followed the lead of his fellow countrymen.

Almost two years ago to the day, Brisbane made their historic debut in the Asian Champions League against Japanese outfit FC Tokyo at Suncorp Stadium. They were soundly beaten 0-2 and went on to be eliminated in the group stage without picking up a win.

Last season, Japanese talisman Shinji Ono broke Roar hearts at Pirtek Stadium – his 87th-minute penalty the only goal of the Round 10 match. Later that year, he would score a spectacular strike to seal the Roar’s faith in the semi final.

This time it was Okabe’s turn to land an atomic bomb on Brisbane’s fortunes, as he awarded a spot kick after Shane Stefanutto tussled with Josh Brillante.

The decision seemed harsh given the amount of contact made by Stefanutto, let alone the fact that initial contact seemed to occur outside the penalty area.

Taggart’s goal handed Newcastle coach Clayton Zane his maiden A-League win, befittingly against the Roar, who must be Newcastle’s favourite opponent.

The Jets, who came into the match winless in 2014, are now unbeaten in five consecutive matches against Brisbane and astonishingly have only lost twice at Suncorp Stadium.

In truth, Brisbane Roar have themselves to blame after a mediocre performance undeserving of their top of the table standing.

With the chance to open up a ten point lead at the summit, the Roar wasted numerous chances in front of Mark Birighitti’s goal, whilst enjoying over 70 per cent of possession.

The first half was evenly split, with both teams enjoying half-chances. Following the goal, Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey enforced the attack by introducing Henrique and return signing Jean Carlos Solorzano.

Henrique came closest to snatching an equaliser when he struck the post with ten minutes to play, but it wasn’t to be in Thomas Broich’s 100th A-League appearance.

It could have been even worse as Taggart should have sealed the win and his brace deep into stoppage time, but a heavy first touch cost him when through one-on-one against Michael Theo.

The result is a big relief for Zane, who was under pressure to pick up his first win in charge and came into the match with Newcastle in ninth spot.

“It’s obviously good to get that one out of the way and not look at that stat anymore from the past seven games,” Zane said.

“I’ve tried to make the players have belief that we can actually get the ball down and play on the transition and they did that quite well tonight.

"It was always going to be a bit of a counter-attacking performance and I think you’ll find that the other nine teams that come up here probably have a similar approach.”

After the match, Mike Mulvey lamented his side’s poor showing, but shouldered all the blame.

“Not good enough. Not good enough at all. If we’re supposed to be a team that’s champions in waiting, then we need to have a good, long look at ourselves,” Mulvey said.

“I take full responsibility. I’m the person who puts the team on the park, chooses the tactics, makes the substitutions. Today is my responsibility but I promise Brisbane Roar fans I’ll fix it.

“The players tried their hearts out. They needed some help from the sidelines today and I didn’t give it to them.”

Mulvey’s disapproval of the penalty decision was evident, as he questioned the timing of the Japanese official’s appointment.

“It was never a penalty. It was outside the box, for a start, and to say the boy fell would probably be fair,” Mulvey said.

“The thing that is disappointing is we find a time to do it (referee exchange) when points are at a premium.

“I understand you need to go and broaden the base, but this is a very important league. Was today the right time? I don’t know.”

Brisbane remain seven points clear at the top of the table, while Newcastle clim to eighth, just two points behind next week’s opponents – sixth-placed Sydney FC.



Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEO (gk), 2. Matthew SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 7. Besart BERISHA, 8. Steven LUSTICA (10. HENRIQUE 64’), 13. Jade NORTH, 14. Diogo FERREIRA (16. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO 64’), 18. Luke BRATTAN, 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Dimitri PETRATOS (17. Matthew McKAY 76’)


Newcastle Jets: 1. Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 4. Kew JALIENS, 6. Zenon CARAVELLA, 8. Ruben ZADKOVICH (c), 9. Emile HESKEY (13. Joey GIBBS 77’), 11. Craig GOODWIN (16. Jacob PEPPER 72’), 12. Connor CHAPMAN, 15. Josh BRILLANTE, 17. James VIRGILI (24. Mitchell OXBORROW 86’), 21. Sam GALLAWAY, 22. Adam TAGGART