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11. Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners – 09/02/20

Newcastle Jets 4 (Dimi Petratos 2, Nikolai Topor-Stanley & Own goals) def Central Coast Mariners 3 ( Ruon Tongyik, Jack Clisby & Chris Harold goals)

Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners warm up prior to the game in front of an empty grandstand

PRE-GAME

Parking is plentiful in the streets around McDonald Jones Stadium with paid parking also available in the grounds at the front of the stadium. Public transport is also available if coming from Sydney or the Central Coast with Broadmeadow train station only a 1.5 km walk from the stadium.

There are a number of clubs and bars available within walking distance to the ground, as well as some local bars closer to the city who will run their courtesy bus to the ground. We can recommend Wests Leagues Club on Hobart Rd, New Lambton (a leisurely 1km stroll to the ground) or if a pub is more your scene both The General Roberts Hotel on the corner of Alma & Lambton Rd, New Lambton or The Sunnyside Tavern on Broadmeadow Rd, Broadmeadow are about a 1.2km walk.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There are two main gates that are opened for most events the larger one on the western side of the ground also houses the ticketing and services areas for purchase and enquiry while the secondary gate is positioned in proximity to the south-eastern corner and is the best access point for seats on the southern hill or the eastern (Andrew Johns) grandstand.

THE GAME

Fortunately for the wet day ahead we had won ourselves a corporate suite in a raffle courtesy of the Hunter Melanoma Foundation and the Jets had made sure our spot was well out of the weather.

View of the action from our corporate suite

Leading up to the match the weather conditions had consisted of torrential rain for a couple of days leading in, add a Rugby Union match on the ground the night before and it was a chance the match wouldn’t even go ahead. But go ahead it did and what a display of attacking football we saw, seven goals in total meant the purists may not have been happy but it brightened what was otherwise a dour day. The Jets probably should have won by more with the number of opportunities they had but it wasn’t to be and the local faithful had to hang on to the edge of the seat as their local rivals the Mariners almost came back and seized a split of the points, an all too common experience in recent times for Jets fans.

Ultimately the Jets hung on through some questionable defensive decisions and walk away with a timely one goal win, their first since late November.

FOOD

It was a very good spread of finger food that was provided as a complimentary inclusion of our corporate suite with the usual fare of pies, sausage rolls, arancini balls, spring rolls and plenty more, we certainly were not left wanting.

OVERALL RATINGS

Parking – 4.5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4/5 (based on standard ticketing)
Food Quality – 4/5
Food Pricing – 4/5 (Based on standard food pricing here)
Atmosphere – 2/5 (unfortunately a very small crowd didn’t add a lot)

TOTAL – 22.5/30

themadsportsfan The List

9. Newcastle Jets vs Western United – 01/02/20

Newcastle Jets 0 vs Western United 0
McDonald Jones Stadium, New Lambton, Newcastle

Both sides took to the pitch in sweltering temperatures in the high 30’s

PRE-GAME

Parking is plentiful in the streets around McDonald Jones Stadium with paid parking also available in the grounds at the front of the stadium. Public transport is also available if coming from Sydney or the Central Coast with Broadmeadow train station only a 1.5 km walk from the stadium.

There are a number of clubs and bars available within walking distance to the ground, as well as some local bars closer to the city who will run their courtesy bus to the ground. We can recommend Wests Leagues Club on Hobart Rd, New Lambton (a leisurely 1km stroll to the ground) or if a pub is more your scene both The General Roberts Hotel on the corner of Alma & Lambton Rd, New Lambton or The Sunnyside Tavern on Broadmeadow Rd, Broadmeadow are about a 1.2km walk.

ARRIVING AT THE GROUND

There are two main gates that are opened for most events the larger one on the western side of the ground also houses the ticketing and services areas for purchase and enquiry while the secondary gate is positioned in proximity to the south-eastern corner and is the best access point for seats on the southern hill or the eastern (Andrew Johns) grandstand.
While for Jets games I would normally sit in the eastern stand a predicted kick off temperature of 37 degrees at 5pm we organised some seats in the upper tier of the Western Stand in Bay 66 (for a good view over the whole field at a price of $39 – good value on a hot day). Tickets can be picked up for $25 in general admission areas such as the hill or $30 for seats in the eastern stand.

The GAME

It was 90 minutes of the Jets dominating Western United without any ability to convert it into points. There was plenty of heat not just in the air but also in the actions of all the players, Josh Risdon, Nigel Boogaard and Besart Berisha to name a few found themselves in physical altercations at different stages of the match as the heat was matched by the aggression of the players.

The Jets had a absolute plethora of scoring opportunities and if it wasn’t for the work of United’s keeper Filip Kurto and inability to finish in front of goal by the Jets it had the potential to be a blow out win for the home side, however it didn’t seem to matter which of the home team it was with opportunity they would spray it wide, drill it at the keeper or in Dimi Petratos’ case somehow kick it backwards when running at a losse ball in front of an almost completely open goal.

That said after 90 minutes of football in temperatures of the high 30s neither team could break the deadlock and they split the points. It was almost relief in the end that it was over rather than the result.

Johnny Koutroumbis & Steve Ugarkovic collapse with exhaustion at full time

A low crowd of just shy of 5,500 in a 30,000 seat stadium however didn’t do the game justice in terms of atmosphere even with a passionate group going hard in the Jets active supporter bay.

FOOD

Food and Drinks weren’t high on our priority list but we did grab some hot chips and a couple of beverages, pricing was reasonable (with a 10% discount for Newcastle Jets members) a 600ml coke, a bottle of water and some hot chips left us with change from $15.

The chips were some of the better ones I have had at a stadium recently so more than a pass mark here.

A meager crowd turned up with only a few choosing to brave the direct sun on the North Hill

OVERALL RATINGS

Parking – 4.5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4.5/5
Food Quality – 4/5
Food Pricing – 4/5
Atmosphere – 2/5

TOTAL – 23/30