JETS captain Jobe Wheelhouse said the squad now knew how to win under coach Gary van Egmond’s game plan after the club jumped into fifth place with a 3-0 victory over Melbourne Heart on Saturday night.
The victory in front of 10,619 fans at Hunter Stadium was the Jets’ third in succession and most comfortable of the campaign.
Striker Jeremy Brockie scored his ninth goal for the season with a header in the 23rd minute.
Left winger Ryan Griffiths headed home his eighth goal after half-time and veteran Michael Bridges completed the rout late with his first strike since coming out of retirement.
For more pictures of the game, click on the image below.
Less than a month ago the Jets appeared to be heading towards a crash landing and a player clean out at season’s end, but now they are on track to make the finals.
Fourth-placed Perth, Newcastle’s opponents on Saturday night at nib Stadium, lost 2-1 to Sydney FC on Saturday night to leave them only three points clear of the the Jets.
The victory over the Heart lacked the crisp short passing from the back that van Egmond hopes to develop, but Newcastle showed the class required to dismantle an understrength Heart side missing creative spark Fred, dangerous midfielder Matt Thompson and their Olyroos representatives.
Wheelhouse said the result was a product of the growing confidence in the club.
‘‘We’re just understanding the way Dutchy wants us to play and we’re getting better at the way he wants us to play and that’s showing in the results,’’ Wheelhouse said. ‘‘I think we’re more together now.
‘‘When you’re not winning it comes from high up that people pick at things – ‘This isn’t going right, you’ve got to do this right’ – and that’s what happens when you’re second from the bottom.
‘‘But all of a sudden you win three games, everyone comes together and the whole club comes together. And look where we are now – we’re fighting for a top-four spot.’’
Van Egmond went with a back three in the 5-2 victory over Sydney FC the week before but reverted to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation against Heart, bringing in Byun Sung-hwan at left back and pushing Taylor Regan to the bench.
Van Egmond said his plans for the season had been accelerated by his side’s improvement in the past three weeks.
‘‘They’re now showing more consistency and obviously the belief sets in because of results,’’ van Egmond said.
‘‘A number of teams have probably gone through a similar transformation, and the one thing players can really start to buy into is when you get results.’’
The Heart have gone eight games without a win.
The Victorians had the better of the opening 20 minutes without creating a goal-scoring chance before a spell of possession from the Jets led to the first goal.
After a controlled build-up, left winger Tarek Elrich cut inside and fired a cross to Brockie, who outmanoeuvred Heart centre-back Curtis Good and directed the ball into the goal with a glancing header.
In the next two minutes the Jets created two more good chances, but Francis Jeffers shot wide and Elrich produced a good save from Clint Bolton.
In the 35th minute Byun curled a free kick over the wall, but it was saved by Bolton at full stretch.
‘‘The first half wasn’t so comfortable,’’ van Egmond said. ‘‘I thought they definitely came out and put us under some pressure.
‘‘We didn’t control the game near as much as I probably would have liked. What was good about that first-half performance, although we didn’t control the game, was we really fought for it.’’
Two minutes after the break, Byun again showed his class from a dead-ball situation when he delivered a free kick from the left.
Griffiths beat Craig Goodwin to meet the ball with another glancing header for the second goal.
Van Egmond substituted Jeffers for Bridges in the 67th minute and the Geordie scored his first goal since coming out of retirement.
Ruben Zadkovich skewed a low shot into the box. The ball caught the boot of Good and bounced up for Bridges to tap in a poacher’s goal to complete the 3-0 scoreline.
The match ended in bizarre fashion when Good was given a second yellow card in the 90th minute by referee Ryan Shepheard but was allowed to stay on the field.
‘‘I noticed it immediately, but I didn’t tell the referee to give him a red card because that is his job. It’s now up to the FFA,’’ Heart coach John van ‘t Schip said.
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