Melbourne Heart FC has claimed its first Hyundai A-League point after securing a 1-1 draw with the Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium last night.
Melbourne Heart FC has claimed its first Hyundai A-League point after securing a 1-1 draw with the Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium last night.
After falling behind to a well taken Jeremy Brockie goal in the 60th minute, Heart bounced back through an unlikely source, with the Jets- Ben Kantarovski clearing past his own ‘keeper to hand the side a valuable away point.
Head Coach John van ‘t Schip declared he was pleased with the resilience displayed by his side to secure a draw against Newcastle, but said there is still room for improvement from the fledgling team.
“We-re happy with the point because for some periods we played a bit of football, but I think this evening, with the qualities we have in the team, we should play more football, and we were not able to for different kinds of reasons,” he said.
“(Josip) Skoko went out in the beginning and we had to change a little bit bringing in Wayne and after that moment we lost a little bit of control of the game.
“We had some occasions in the beginning, a free kick and headers but overall I think Newcastle had the best chances and I was glad to have Clint (Bolton) in the goal as he made some good saves.
“The positive thing is we showed we were a team, we kept on fighting and at the end, we got a result that we were very pleased with, and that-s the first point.”
While the Jets had an early chance as Marko Jesic tested Bolton with a low strike on goal after only seven minutes of play, it was Heart who made the early running, with Dutch striker Gerald Sibon curling a free kick into the arms of Ben Kennedy before volleying wide soon after.
However, Newcastle soon asserted control of the contest, with Michael Bridges and then Jesic denied by an inspired Bolton in close succession.
Van ‘t Schip was forced to reshuffle his side in the 17th minute, as Josip Skoko succumbed to injury and was replaced by Wayne Srhoj in his first outing for the Club.
The forced change provided Newcastle with a chance to wrest command over the midfield battle as Bridges and Ali Abbas peppered the away team-s goal, but Heart was undeterred, defending solidly as a unit before conjuring the best chance of the half through Nick Kalmar.
The 23-year-old midfielder latched onto a swinging corner, directing a bullet header at the Jets goal only to be denied by the superb reflexes of Kennedy.
However, it was Newcastle who took the lead soon after the break, as New Zealand World Cup player Brockie cut into the box before sliding a shot under Bolton.
But the advantage proved to be short-lived as Kantarovski scored past his own ‘keeper after Michael Marrone attempted to latch onto an incisive ball from Rutger Worm.
