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Craig HillNewcastle Jets through to the A-league Grand Final
February 18th 2008 05:00
The Newcastle Jets are through to the A-league grand final after beating Queensland Roar 3-2 in a hard fought preliminary final marred by controversy.
Matt Thompson opened the scoring for the Jets in the 40th minute and were just minutes away from a defiant 1-0 win until a dubious decision by referee turned the game on its head when he awarded Queensland a penalty in injury time for a foul on Simon Lynch.
Up stepped Roar’s Brazilian striker Reinaldo to score from the spot to send the match into extra-time.
Of the two sides, it was Newcastle who started extra time brightly despite the harsh decision that went against them moments earlier and in the 104th minute, they received a penalty of their own when Korean midfielder Song was fouled in the box and Joel Griffiths converting the spot-kick.
Buoyed by taking the lead once again, the Jets continued to press and were rewarded with a third goal in the 110th minute after penalty scorer Griffiths had setup Tarek Elrich to unleash an unstoppable shot from 12 yards out. However, there was still plenty of drama and goalmouth action left in the enthralling contest when Roar skipper Craig Moore received a red-card after a challenge on Mark Bridge.
Despite going a man down, Queensland were awarded a second penalty when Zullo was fouled by Elrich and Reinaldo added a second goal from the spot which ultimately proved not enough as the Jets held on for a deserving win and booked themselves a place in the grand final against Central Coast Mariners at the Sydney Football Stadium on February 24, 2008.
[Video Source: YouTube]
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