Football is a funny old game… just ask Newcastle Jets mentor Rob Stanton.
With his side leading 2-0, and on song to win its first A-League Men’s (ALM) match at McDonald Jones Stadium in 2024/25, he could only look on in despair as Sydney FC rallied to snatch a 2-all draw in the dying minutes.
It didn’t seem fair, given his charges outplayed their highly-credentialled opponents.
But, instead of complaining, Stanton admitted he couldn’t fault the effort of his players, especially with the likes of injured trio Lachlan Rose, Dane Ingham and Aleksandar Susnjar watching on from the stands.
“That’s just a lesson on managing, or playing out, games and if you don’t do it properly against good teams, things like this can happen,” he said.
“Look, there’s an element of disappointment.
“Don’t get me wrong, we’re here to win matches.
“However, at the same time, we’re a bit thin at the moment as we’ve sustained some major injuries.
“So, it was a big ask of the players.
“When you take that into consideration, I thought their performance was outstanding.
“We played our game; we didn’t surrender to what Sydney wanted to do.
“In fact, I think we held them to ransom to play our style.
“It was only until the match was getting away from Sydney that they had to be more aggressive, pressing.
“Obviously, we’d used a lot of energy and, being thin on the bench, I asked big questions of those who probably weren’t ready to play.
“But, I had to put them out and expose them.
“And, to be fair, they did well.
“I’m happy because they got exposure; they’ll be better for it.
“We learnt another lesson [today], however the brand was good and the effort was there.
“The only disappointment was the result.
“I’d be unhappy if people said we didn’t play well or perform well.”
Stanton dismissed suggestions Newcastle just needed a bit of good fortune.
“I can’t sit here and say we deserved the three (competition) points,” he said.
“At the end of the day, there’s no luck in football, like people think.
“Well, I don’t believe in it.
“You must take your opportunities, manage the moments and recognise the dangers.
“That’s the difference.
“If you can do it, more results will go in your favour.
“We just didn’t have the experience [out there] to recognise a couple of things and we paid the price.
“So, it’s something I’ll address with the players.”
One positive from the showdown, Stanton acknowledged, was the crowd figure of 8,500 at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“It was great to be home after a lot of travel,” he said.
“However, we owe it to our fans to play the best brand of football we can.
“From a team’s perspective, the boys travel really well together.
“I think they enjoy each other’s company.
“We’ve now got work to do here at home to build a fortress (in Newcastle).
“But, in regards to Sydney, it was a top performance.
“I even thought our efforts against Adelaide, bar 20 minutes, and Melbourne City were really, really good.
“Unfortunately, from those three games, we’ve only got one point.
“So, it’s really important that we build an identity here for the fans as well as a winning mentality and a winning culture.
“We want to put smiles on our supporters’ faces because they’re backing up every week.
“While we’re still going through that process, I’m grateful for them to be here.”
The Jets meet the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday 7 January (8pm) before facing Macarthur FC at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday 12 January (5pm).
“Hopefully, we’ll have Lachlan (Rose) back,” Stanton said.
“He was close [today].
“I would’ve liked to have had him there, mainly for his experience.
“However, he’s probably not 100%, so I didn’t want to make a mistake by playing him too early again.”
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