Newcastle striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos admits he’s in the form of his life after two goals and a brilliant assist helped steer his side to a 3-1 A-League Men win against Brisbane.
The Jets captain was in undeniable form at McDonald Jones Stadium as his side brushed aside a 10-man Roar outfit, scoring either side of the break on Tuesday night to carry them to their first win in four outings.
As if that wasn’t enough, Stamatelopoulos produced a stunning through ball for Lucas Mauragis who added their third goal.
The Jets remain 10th on the table but it was a much-needed result, coming off a 4-0 battering at the hands of Sydney FC last Friday.
Positive moments were few and far between for the Roar but they did enjoy one in the 71st minute when Ayom Majok netted his maiden ALM goal.
They struggled to contain Stamatelopoulos, who rifled home a header from close range on the half-hour thanks to a perfect Kostandinos Grozos set-piece delivery.
It was 2-0 shortly after the break when Daniel Wilmering played a perfect pass for the striker to tap home on the counter-attack, before the skipper’s midfield brilliance created Mauragis’s sealer.
Stamatelopoulos said consistent gametime was key to his 10-goal season and he is now just three behind the league's leading scorer Bruno Fornaroli.
“I've always known I could do what I'm doing this season, it was just about getting the opportunity and playing,” he told Paramount.
“When (coach) Rob (Stanton) called me ... I wanted to come here and so I'm happy that I'm repaying his faith.
“It's just (about) getting balls in the box ... me being in the box, it's just where I love to be and I feel like that's where I'm at my best.
“When the ball's getting put there a lot of time I feel like I'm going to score.”
The Roar threatened to stage a comeback with a golden chance falling to Nikola Mileusnic shortly after Majok’s strike, but a smother from Jets keeper Ryan Scott kept things at 3-1.
But Brisbane may well be questioning why they had to play the second half a man down when midfielder Jay O’Shea was controversially sent off just before half-time.
Referee Daniel Cook initially gave him a yellow card but upgraded the punishment after a trip to the VAR stand when he was adjudged to have collected Newcastle's Callum Timmins high.
Brisbane contend O'Shea did not see the Jets player and the tackle was unintentional.
“This is what people don't understand when they're watching things on VAR, when you slow things down it always makes it look worse,” Roar captain Tom Aldred told Paramount.
“There's no intent from Jay, he just goes to win the ball … for me, that’s not a red card.
“(But our) second half was better than the first half with 11 men, more endeavour, more fight, more fighting for one another.”
Newcastle’s Reno Piscopo won a first-half penalty when his wayward shot hit Roar left-back Louis Zabala, but his subsequent spot kick was comfortably parried away by keeper Macklin Freke.
