JETS coach Arthur Papas will call on the experience of Matt Jurman to cover the absence of defender Jordan Elsey for the visit by Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
Elsey was given a straight red card for a karate-kick challenge on David Williams in the Jets' 2-1 win over Perth Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
He will miss at least the Phoenix clash but could be sidelined for longer depending on the outcome of the A-League match review panel on Monday.
Elsey went from hero to zero. He put the Jets ahead with a brilliant header in the 59th minute.
But joy turned to despair 10 minutes later.
And it's red for Elsey! 🟥
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) October 15, 2022
A brutal challenge from Jordan Elsey sees him marched for his second yellow of the match - and the Jets are down to 10 men#NEWvPER is live now on Paramount+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/8U8s9GmFza
The centreback rushed out to clear a header which bounced high on the edge of the box. His boot made contact with the ball first and then collected substitute Williams in the face.
Referee Daniel Elder initially ruled the high-foot occurred outside the box. But the VAR intervened and after viewing replays, Elder gave Elsey a straight red card and awarded Perth a penalty.
Williams was not injured in the incident.
Former Jets striker Roy O'Dovonan was banned for 10 matches after being found guilty of serious foul play for a high-foot challenge on Melbourne Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas in the 2018 grand final. However, O'Donovan did not make contact with the ball. Thomas suffered a cut to the face but played the match out.
Papas conceded that the challenge by Elsey on Williams was "high".
"The leg is high. I don't know if the head (of David Willaims] is down," Papas said. "We will look at it and see if we have to appeal."
The moment 🪄#BondedByGold pic.twitter.com/p1kqdejxHB
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) October 15, 2022
Co-captain Jurman, who lost his starting spot to teenager Mark Natta, played the final 16 minutes and was outstanding.
"Matty came on when we had 10 men and marshalled the defence," Papas said. "For us to be successful, we need to rely on more than 11 players."
Glory substitute Aaron McEneff drilled the spot kick into the right corner to level at 1-all.
The Jets had dominated the game, albeit not the scoreboard, until that point.
"When we scored, we had momentum and probably needed to control the next part of the game better," Papas said. "That culminated in the send off because we were under a bit of pressure. They started to have the ball more, which was a consequence of going down a man.
"To have the spirit to go on and win the game - not just hold out but go on and win - speaks volumes for the group."
The winner was a perfectly executed transition goal.
Brandon O'Neill cleared a Glory corner into the path of speedster Jaushua Sotirio. He went coast-to-coast, burning past two defenders before threading a ball for Beka Mikeltadze, who checked off a defender and drilled an angled shot into the bottom-left corner.
"Last season, we were on the end of a lot of those games at the end," Papas said.
Carl Jenkinson and Mark Natta were outstanding in their Jets' debuts and Angus Thurgate got through a power of work.
The Jets intentions were clear from the outset. They dominated possession and tried to get their quick men, Trent Buhagiar and Reno Piscopo in behind.
It wasn't a case of simply shift it wide and bomb on.
They threaded diagonal passes between the lines, involving Angus Thurgate, Beha Dartsmelia and Mikeltadze.
The Jets had completed 100 passes inside 15 minutes - double that of Perth - but didn't create many clear chances.
"Perth changed from a back four to pretty much a back five with three really strong centrebacks," Papas said. "Not a lot of space to play.
"It wasn't going to be easy to get balls into the box when they have so many numbers there and are sitting quite deep."
