Newcastle Jets skipper insists that the recent 2-1 victory over Wellington Phoenix was “massive” for the club, while conceding that it was their worst performance of their 2020-21 A-League campaign.
The Jets have had problems off the pitch with regard to unpaid debts that caused Football Australia to strip them of the privilege of playing in the A-League, only to be immediately rescued by a consortium led by Sydney FC, Western United & Western Sydney Wanderers.
With the saga having reached a conclusion, the New South Wales based club were putting in good performances, but kept falling short of picking up points in all of their first four games of the season prior to the win in Wollongong.
Against the Phoenix, however, the Jets took an early lead through a goal from Valentino Yuel, and doubled their advantage when Roy O’Donovan scored his 50th goal in the A-League in the second-half.
Boogaard himself made something out of nothing when he acrobatically sent a beautifully crafted bicycle-kick towards goal, but shot-stopper Stefan Marinovic was equal to the task.
Late drama ensued at the Wollongong Showground when Jets youngster Blake Archbold showed a lack of experience to take down Cameron Devlin in the box, which saw Ulises Davila hit home from the spot.
Following the penalty, Newcastle were under an enormous amount of pressure for the remainder of the game and were saved by the final whistle.
“It’s massive. It was probably our worst footballing performance today,” Boogaard told FOX Sports after the game.
“Game management-wise we took the lead and probably could’ve put it to bed earlier but we didn’t capitalise on those things.
“The key moments have gone against us this season and tonight the key moments were with our backs against the wall, and the boys were fantastic.”
Newcastle Jets travel to take on Western Sydney Wanderers in Parramatta on Friday night.
