Jets win a warning to others, says Petratos

DIMITRI Petratos says Newcastle’s famous victory over Sydney FC has handed them the mental edge heading into the finals series.

The Jets showed their championship credentials with a 2-1 win over the table-toppers in Newcastle on Saturday, a stunning result given the home side were a player down from the 13th minute after Roy O’Donovan’s sending off.

Petratos says the game provided the team with a true test of their character and forced the players to work extra hard for the result.

“Everyone worked very hard; we’re all buggered, but it fell for us in the end,” Petratos said.

“It would have been nice if he didn’t send him (O’Donovan) off obviously, but we just had to work extra hard, put in the hard yards, and that’s what we did.

“I think it was a good test for us. I think it’s shame that (the sending off) happened, but it showed our character to prepare us for the finals.

“Never-give-up attitude, we

‘‘ EVERYONE WORKED VERY HARD; WE’RE ALL BUGGERED, BUT IT FELL FOR US. DIMITRI PETRATOS

showed that, and I think it comes at a great time towards the end of the season and leading into the finals.”

Petratos scored the opening goal, a penalty, that set Newcastle on their way to their first win over Sydney since 2012. Bobo equalised for the visitors in the second half, but it took the Jets mere minutes to get back on top with another Andrew Nabbout wonder strike.

Nabbout and Petratos have been so impressive for the Jets this season that the duo are set to be named in Bert Van Marwijk’s Socceroos squad for the upcoming friendly matches in Europe.

Petratos says he and the whole Jets team are having fun playing their football under Ernie Merrick and that’s been the key to their success so far – with more to come.

“We have to enjoy it otherwise we won’t get the results and we won’t play the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “He (Ernie) tells us to express ourselves and just have fun.

“We just go out and play our game. There isn’t one team that can’t be beaten, of course every game is a tough game and we just went out there and did what we set out to do.

“It was a great team performance; we worked hard throughout the whole 90 minutes plus injury time and I think we did very well to get the win.

“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still more to come.”