Newcastle Jets survived a shaky finish to grab all three points with a 3-2 win over Gold Coast United. Newcastle Jets: 3 (Jobe Wheelhouse '6, Sean Rooney '70, Sasho Petrovski '81) Gold Coast United: 2 (Shane Smeltz (p) '44, '84) Venue: EnergyAustralia Stadium Crowd: 5,254
The Jets got off to a great start when Jobe Wheelhouse hit a 25-yard scorcher that swung in past Gold Coast keeper Jess Vanstrattan in just the 6th minute to give the home side the ascendency.
Ex-Brisbane Roar midfielder Charlie Miller almost begun his stint with the Gold Coast in the best possible fashion minutes later when he struck a left-footed volley that was safely held onto by Neil Young.
Gold Coast had the better of the chances during the first half but lacked efficiency although they got a chance to equalise when Shane Smeltz was brought down in the area by Ben Kantarovski. Smeltz converted the ensuing spot-kick to enable the visitors to go into the half on level terms.
The Jets lost marquee midfielder Fabio Vignaroli in the first half with what seemed to be an innocuous incident but was reported to be an anterior cruciate and medial ligament injury which would be a major blow for Brank Culina's side.
When played resumed, Gold Coast midfielder Jason Culina almost put his aside ahead of his father's charges when he whipped a shot goalward in the 47th minute but the ball flew past the crossbar and the score remained at 1-1.
Newcastle went ahead after some lacklustre play from both sides when a Matt Thompson shot deflected off the bar and Sean Rooney was on hand to hit the back of the net with a diving header.
The Jets went 3-1 up when Rooney turned provider and slipped in a nice pass for substitute Sasho Petrovski who finished calmly from close range.
United got one back a few minutes later when Smeltz tapped in after Young spilt a save from a Matthew Osman shot - it was the New Zealand international's eighth goal in seven games against the Jets.
With three minutes remaining, Young came up with a match-winning save to redeem his mistake from moments earlier, diving at full stretch to parry away a well-struck Culina shot from the edge of the area.
But that was the end of the action as the Jets scored a vital win and moved up to fourth on the table whilst United stayed in third.
