With almost 400 domestic games under his belt, Joe Shaughnessy has witnessed many memorable moments as a professional footballer.

But, the Irishman rates the Newcastle Jets’ defensive effort against Auckland FC on New Year’s Day as one of the best he’s seen.

Down to 10 players for 70 minutes, and nine in the dying stages, Mark Milligan’s A-League Men’s (ALM) side shocked the competition pacesetters 3-1 at Go Media Stadium for the second occasion in 2025/26.

“It’s definitely up there,” the central defender responded when asked about the Herculean effort.

“I know I enjoyed it.

“That’s what I’m kind of used to, so it was good for me to play a part in it.

“I think the lads all defended well as a team.

“However, it was a brilliant result, to go away twice in a month and win [there] is pretty impressive.

“Coming on at half-time, and organising everyone, suited me down to the ground.

“I’ve done that most of my career.”

Shaughnessy, who’s enjoyed stints with Aberdeen, Forfar Athletic, Falkirk, St Johnstone, Southend United, St Mirren and Dundee, praised the intestinal fortitude of his Newcastle teammates, too.

“It was probably a good lesson,” he said.

“Sometimes you need to play ugly, or tough, to get the points.

“We’ve got a very young squad of players and to go through games like that, it’s important.

“It is what football’s all about.

“You can lose in the last minute or win some in the last minute.

“But, overall, it’s a big learning curve.

“Especially, that one… where you defend for ages with 10 men and not concede in that time.

“They’ll know what to do if that situation arises again.

“So, you take the lessons and, hopefully, it’ll stand the boys in good stead moving forward.”

Shaughnessy admitted the outcome wouldn’t mean much if the Jets falter against Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Sunday 11 January.

“We have to produce the goods week-in week-out,” he said.

“It’s no different this weekend.

“We’ve got a way that we play.

“And, it’s not something we want to get away from.

“So, we go there and play the same, whether we’re home or away.

“It’s going to be tough, but we head to Melbourne full of confidence.

“We’re on a pretty good run, so there’s nothing to be scared of.”

Shaughnessy also offered some sage advice to his fallen colleagues Alex Badolato and Christian Bracco.

Both ruptured their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) during the Auckland clash and will miss the rest of the ALM season.

It’s a road the 33-year-old’s been on, too.

“It’s tough for the lads to take,” he said.

“However, I know they’ll be well looked after here.

“I went through it very recently myself, last season in fact, the ACL rehab and everything.

“It is a journey they’ll also have to go through.

“It’s hard when you’re young… you hear ‘ACL’ and worry about it.

“But, it’s not as career-ending as it used to be.

“It is part of football – and they’ll come back stronger than ever.

“When you’ve been in the game long enough, you know that you’re never going to go through the whole season and keep the whole squad fit.

“It makes it easier to move on, I guess.

“However, I’ll help them out if they need anything.

“For me, I made sure I didn’t put a deadline on my return.

“I said to the physios at the time, don’t give me a date because if I don’t hit that, it’s when I’ll kind of lose faith in it all.

“I’ll just deal with it week-by-week… and I’ll be back when I’m back.

“There’s no hurry.

“I think there’s been many cases where players rush back from ACLs and end up having other problems down the line.

“So, that’s my suggestion to Alex and Christian: do what the physios say to the letter and take it week-by-week.”

For more sports stories:

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• Jets chase home revival as season-defining stretch begins
• Former Jets player embroiled in ALM racism probe

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