Jets win thriller, lose marquee player

Newcastle overcame a potentially career-ending injury to marquee player Fabio
Vignaroli to hold on for a thrilling 3-2 win over Gold Coast at EnergyAustralia
Stadium on Sunday.
The Jets continued their impressive mid-season turnaround with their third straight
win lifting them to fourth position on the ladder little more than a month after
they were sitting last.
Scores were locked at 1-1 apiece until promising striker Sean Rooney put the Jets
ahead in the 70th minute and substitute Sasho Petrovski looked to have put the
result beyond doubt in the 80th minute.
But star striker Shane Smeltz scored his second of the game in the 84th minute to
set up a tense finale before Neil Young produced a great save to deny Jason Culina
an equaliser.
Earlier Newcastle midfielder Jobe Wheelhouse opened the scoring with one of the
goals of the season before Smeltz equalised with a penalty just before the break.
The win in front of 5254 fans was soured by a serious right knee injury to
33-year-old Italian playmaker Vignaroli, whose career looks in severe doubt with
officials fearing he has torn both his medial and anterior cruciate ligaments.
The match exploded into life in the sixth minute when Wheelhouse scored only the
second A-League goal of his career.
The midfielder superbly caught a Jin-Hyung Song layoff on the half volley, showing
great technique to unleash an unstoppable, curling shot into the top right corner of
the goal.
Gold Coast almost hit back immediately when Charlie Miller, playing his first game
from the club since leaving Brisbane Roar, forced a good save out of Young from
close range.
All was going to plan for the Jets before injury-prone Vignaroli was forced off in
the 37th minute in anguish after his right knee appeared to give way.
Things went from bad to worse for the Jets when Ben Kantarovski brought down Shane
Smeltz in the box, giving referee Ben Williams no choice but to award a penalty.
The New Zealand striker made no mistake with a perfectly-taken spot kick.
Gold Coast were looking more likely to go on and win before Rooney put the home side
ahead when he headed home from close range in the 70th minute.
The goal really belonged to outgoing captain Matt Thompson, whose clever chip
bounced back off the crossbar and into the path of Rooney.
The result looked beyond doubt when Petrovski netted his first goal of the season
with a deft finish in the 80th minute from Rooney's cross.
But Smeltz gave the visitors a chance he pounced after Young spilled a Leon Osman
shot, before the 'keeper made up for it by tipping over Culina's long-range effort.