An Adam Taggart hat-trick gave Newcastle Jets a 5-2 win over Melbourne Heart at Wanderers Oval on Sunday afternoon in the National Youth League.
An Adam Taggart hat-trick gave Newcastle Jets a 5-2 win over Melbourne Heart at Wanderers Oval on Sunday afternoon in the National Youth League.
The Jets dominated play in the first half with goals to Bernardo Ribiero, Taggart and Zenon Caravella for a 3-0 lead at half-time.
Taggart’s second made it 4-0 early in the second stanza before the home side gave Heart a sniff and the Red and White were quick to capitalise with Zac Walker bagging a brace to make it 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.
But Taggart extinguished any hope of a Heart comeback when he pounced on an error from the Heart backline to record a hat-trick.
The Heart gave themselves a glimmer of a hope when Walker pulled a goal back just before the hour mark when he was found time on the edge of the area and he pulled the trigger on wonderful shot that curled into the top corner of the net.
Melbourne continued their comeback when Walker grabbed his second in almost identical fashion after a being put in behind the Jets defence with an intelligent sliding pass from Ben Garuccio to make it 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.
Newcastle wrestled back momentum and sealed the match when Taggart pounced on a failed short goal-kick from Maynard and steered a left-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net to make it 5-2 in the 78th minute.
The Heart finished the match with 10 men after Walker was sent from the field for his second bookable offence in the 86th minute before substitute Andrew Cartanos missed a chance in front of an open goal on the stroke of full-time.
Newcastle Jets 5
Taggart 34, 53, 78, Ribiero 5, Caravella 44
Melbourne Heart 2
Walker 58, 70
At Wanderers Oval, Newcastle
Newcastle Jets
1. Ben Kennedy (GK) (20. Jack Duncan 46), 2. Jacob Pepper, 3. Mason Campbell (capt), 4. Nicholas Cowburn, 5. Luke Remington, 6. Mitchell Oxborrow, 7. James Virgili (14. Bobby Russell 46), 8. Zenon Caravella (13. Michael Finlayson 46), 9. Adam Taggart, 10. Mitch Cooper, 11. Bernardo Ribeiro (12. Kale Bradbery 22).
Melbourne Heart
1. Christopher Maynard (GK) 2. Phillip Petreski (capt), 3. Quinn MacDonald, (14. Tyler James 55) 4. Andrew Mullet, 5. William Abbott, 6. Zac Walker, 7. Ersin Kaya (12. Andrew Cartanos 60), 8. Cameron Edwards, 9. Evan Batsis (15. Wade Decker 60), 10. Stefan Mauk, 11. Ben Garuccio.
Unused substitute: 16. Alastair Bray (GK)
