A-League Men leaders Auckland have continued their inspired start to life in the Australian top flight, defeating the Newcastle Jets 2-0 and setting a defensive record in the process.
Just when it appeared the sides would have to settle for a scoreless draw in sodden conditions at Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday, an attempted headed clearance of a Francis De Vries cross by the Jets looped out to substitute Neyder Moreno, who fired home on the volley.
Minutes later, after Justin Vidic had an equaliser ruled out for offside, De Vries sealed the result when he bounced an effort off a defender and into the net after the visitors failed to clear a free kick.
The victory means Steve Corica’s side join Western Suburbs as the only sides to win their first five games in the Australian top flight.
And in keeping a fifth consecutive clean sheet, they broke the mark Western Suburbs set in the first NSL season in 1977 for the most minutes before conceding a goal.
They now have the chance to claim the wins record outright and increase their defensive mark when they meet third-placed Wellington in an all-New Zealand clash next week.
"It was something we spoke about all pre-season, about what we wanted to achieve as a football club,” Auckland’s Jake Brimmer told Sky Sport.
“We've done exactly that. We look strong defensively, but you can see today we improved from last week in attack and again we managed to get the points.”
Missing skipper and starting right back Hiroki Sakai, this defensive resoluteness was tested after just three minutes by the Jets when Eli Adams sprung Ben Gibson through on goal, only for keeper Alex Paulsen to rapidly charge down his shot.
The hosts grew into the game and were in firm control for much of it, but beyond a Dan Hall volley that produced a superb save did little to test Ryan Scott in the first half.
Scott again produced a remarkable stop to deny Guillermo May the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute, and the Jets showed signs of resistance up the other end in the 73rd minute when Clayton Taylor forced Paulsen into action.
But Auckland eventually found their breakthrough.
“We were in the game for most of it,” Jets skipper Kosta Grozos told Sky Sports.
“We had a few key chances, but it comes down to moments and we didn't have those moments today.”
