Jets pay dearly for send-off

NEWCASTLE marquee player Ronald Vargas was sent off in controversial circumstances as Melbourne City consigned the Jets to more A-League pain at AAMI Park.

The red card midway through yesterday evening’s first half set the course for an action-packed 2-1 City victory, the hosts recovering after goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic’s nightmare start left them trailing in the opening minutes.

Riley McGree converted from the penalty spot in the 25th minute when a Luke Brattan corner deflected off Vargas’s arm.

The Venezuelan could hardly have escaped the line of fire and made his displeasure clear, telling referee Kurt Arms to “---- off”.

It was later indicated that Vargas had been booked for dissent, despite the fact the card had already been brandished when he unleashed at the official.

The Jets had the right to feel aggrieved given they had their own appeal for handball inside their penalty area dismissed minutes earlier.

Brattan then made the Jets pay for a defensive lapse, firing past a slow-reacting Lewis Italiano after being gifted ample space just outside the box.

The match started woefully for the hosts when Galekovic – boasting a league-high four clean sheets this season and coming off a starring role in City’s defeat of Western Sydney – conceded the easiest of goals to Jets striker Roy O’Donovan.