Newcastle Jets put on an excellent show for the fans in their final home game of the season at the No.2 Sportsground with a win against bottom of the table Wellington Phoenix.
Chasing the game on two occasions, the Jets ran out 3-2 winners thanks to a late strike from captain and consecutive appearance record holder Cassidy Davis.
The scoring was opened by the away team when Marisa van der Meer found herself with a free header from a corner.
The home team equalised through Lauren Allen which brings her season tally to five. A wayward Cassidy Davis shot became an inch-perfect through ball to Allen, who poked home with a clinical sliding effort.
Paige Satchell found herself in acres of space at the back post, and after receiving a lethal through ball from Betsy Hassett, she was able to take one touch before rifling it home past the stranded Georgina Worth. That would restore the lead for the away side and make it 2-1 early in the second half.
From that point on it was the Newcastle Jets show, as they found another gear and began the fight back into the match.
It was Ashlee Brodigan who would equalise just five minutes after being subbed on in the game. A chest down from Em Garnier that gave her the opportunity to get a shot away. Her first attempt was miscued, however the ball popped back up for her to have another go and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
Cassidy Davis completed the comeback with an emphatic effort, the first in her career which spans 128 consecutive starts for the Newcastle side. It was a memorable way to bring up her first goal too, expertly cutting past a defender before thrashing the ball in off the underside of the crossbar.
Davis was relieved to get her first goal, after going agonisingly close on countless occasions.
“It has been a long time; 128 games,” she said.
“It doesn’t feel real yet. I keep hitting crossbars and posts, but really happy to get the winning goal today on a special day celebrating Tara and Claire’s retirement and Lauren’s 50th game.”
It was the perfect way to send off two legends of the club in Claire Coelho and Tara Andrews, who both announced their retirement from the professional game at the conclusion of this season.
Tara Andrews joined the Jets as a 15-year-old, and went on to make 129 appearances for the side which puts her in the number two spot for the women’s team overall. She leaves as the all-time leading goal scorer for the women’s team with 45 during her tenure.
Claire Coelho calls time on her career after 10 years at the club, making 34 appearances including multiple match-winning performances.
Cassidy Davis says that the send-offs gave the team all the more to fight for out on the pitch.
“We just wanted to win today, and we knew what we had to do. Playing for all of those girls today gave us extra motivation,” she said.
Another player with a reason to celebrate is Lauren Allen, who netted on her 50th appearance for the Jets.
“Pretty much everything went according to plan,” she said.
“I got a goal, Cassie got a goal, we got three points.”
Speaking on the assist she got from Davis, Allen joked that Davis came clean straight after the attempted shot.
“She already owned up that it was a shot, but I thought ‘I’ve got to get on the end of it’ anyway,” she said.
With five goals and one assist this season, Allen is happy with her personal development and has become one of the main attacking threats in the side.
”Individually I’ve had a pretty good season myself, I’ve grown in confidence and moved into that senior role,” she said.
The win is an important one in the race to avoid the wooden spoon. Wellington are now five points back in last place with one game in hand, while the Jets face Sydney FC in the last game of their campaign.
Avoiding bottom spot will go a long way in helping with the mentality coming into next season. The Jets will want to end the current season on a high, with new coach Gary van Egmond now confirmed to be taking the reigns on a permanent basis from next year.
Feature image credit: Sproule Sports Focus
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