In a match played largely in a downpour neither side could find the back of the net as the Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar played out a scoreless draw on Friday night at Hunter Stadium.
The match went through a number of changes in who was controlling the match but one constant was the impressive performance of both goalkeepers.
Newcastle got off to the better start and could well have opened the scoring after just six minutes as Emile Heskey hit the post after a good Zenon Caravella cross.
In the 12th minute the rain came pouring down and with it Brisbane's turn to control the match as they started to look more composed than their hosts.
Besarat Berisha broke free which allowed Thomas Broich to get a shot away only to be denied by some desperate goalkeeping from Mark Birighitti.
That lead to a series of chances for the defending champions, the next being a reverse as Broich's pass was cut off by Birighitti before it reached Berisha.
Berisha had another chance moments later as Ivan Franjic played Berisha through but Birighitti came up big again to deny the striker.
Just before half-time Brisbane thought they'd opened the scoring as former Jets captain Jade North sent home Broich's cross only to see the goal wrongly disallowed for offside.
Half-time was another chance for momentum to shift as Newcastle came out from the break determined to get the lead.
In the 52nd minute it was Michael Theo's turn to produce an impressive save as Ruben Zadkovic's shot forced Theo to dive low.
Adam Taggart had the next chance for the Jets as he hit a powerful shot from the edge of the area only for another impressive Theo save to keep the match scoreless.
The momentum shifted again as Stefan Nijland hit a shot that skipped off the wet pitch but was denied by Birighitti.
James Virgili came on for Newcastle in the 81st minute and produced one final momentum shift as the Jets controlled the final ten minutes.
Late on saw a flurry of chances for the hosts beginning with Heskey who blasted his effort over the bar.
In the closing stages the Brisbane defense came up big as they put their bodies on the line to block chances to Zadkovic and Mitch Cooper as the match ended scoreless.
For all the latest Australian Football news please subscribe and follow the writer on twitter.
Comments