Tara Murray
It was a winning return to the field for Western United as it defeated the Newcastle Jets in the FFA Cup on Saturday.
In their first official match since May, United faced Newcastle for a spot in the final 32 of the competition.
United had never previously won a match in the FFA Cup.
United showed some good signed early on with Dylan Wenzel-Halls looking sharp in his first appearance.
Just after the half hour mark, a shot from Newcastle’s Angus Thurgate was partially saved by Jamie Young, with the Jets thinking they had scored.
That inspired a surge of dominance from the visitors, with Young called upon on multiple occasions to keep the scores level.
Just as it looked like the sides would head into the interval locked at 0-0, Lachie Wales popped up to open the scoring for the home side, slotting into an empty net after an error from Jets goalkeeper Jack Duncan.
An early second-half sighter from Wenzel-Halls forced Duncan into a good save, with United immediately getting on the front foot in search of a second goal.
The Jets leveled the scored just after the hour through Daniel Penha.
Substitute Dylan Pierias thought he had United back in front in the 76th minute when he diverted Aleksandar Prijovic’s header into the back of the net.
The goal was disallowed due to an off side call.
It would be second time lucky, as Prijovic scored on debut after an assist from skipper Alessandro Diamanti.
Young pulled off a two brilliant saves in the last five minutes as Newcastle piled on the pressure for a late equaliser.
United now faces Wellington Phoenix for a spot in the last 16 where they will play National Premier League side Avondale.
