McGarry scores against former club to keep Wellington Phoenix winless
JAMES McGarry did not score a single goal in his 40 games for Wellington Phoenix.
It took the New Zealand international just two games to open his account for Newcastle Jets, his first goal coming against his former employer.
McGarry scored the first of three first-half goals as the Jets downed a defensively inept Phoenix 3-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium last night, coach Ufuk Talay’s men kept winless after the first three rounds of the A-League Men season.
Former Phoenix players McGarry, Reno Piscopo and Jaushua Sotirio were all named to start for the Jets, who were missing key striker Beka Mikeldatze through injury, and the trio all played instrumental roles, with Piscopo pulling the strings masterfully behind Sotirio and fellow speedster Trent Buhagiar.
The Phoenix were let down by some woeful defending in central midfield as they fell two goals behind after 16 minutes.
McGarry and new Georgian import Beka Dartsmelia scored with long-range efforts from outside the penalty area after they were afforded time to shoot.
McGarry took a heavy touch as he tried to control a pass, but he regathered, stepped past Steven Ugarkovic and rifled a shot off his weaker right-foot into the bottom right corner of the goal. Dartsmelia made it 2-0 in the 16th minute after playing a one-two with Piscopo and launching a powerful shot from even further out than McGarry’s effort that left keeper Oli Sail with no chance.
Clayton Lewis was the guilty man on this occasion, failing to track his man, and he paid the price with Talay dragging the midfielder at halftime.
The Phoenix thought they had found a way back into the game when Bulgarian midfielder Bozhidar Kraev scored his first A-League goal with a low-driven strike from the edge of the area in the 40th minute.
Ben Waine showed good physicality to ride a couple of challenges before getting a pass away to Sam Sutton, who laid the ball off for Kraev at the corner of the box.
Jets goalkeeper Michael Weier picked out a Sutton cross as the Phoenix searched for a second goal before halftime.
However, the Jets scored again right before the break through Trent Buhagiar to restore the home team’s two-goal advantage.
Weier threw the ball to Piscopo and he dribbled through the Phoenix midfield before playing a pass to Sotirio on the left wing, whose cross was met by Buhagiar at the back post.
The Phoenix rang the changes in the second half and got good impact from their substitutes, with Oskar van Hattum testing Weier on a couple of occasions. But despite putting up 22 shots to the Jets’ eight, they were unable to score a second goal and force the issue.