Valentino Yuel fires Newcastle Jets to victory against Melbourne City

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:09 am

A first-half strike from rejuvenated forward Valentino Yuel lifted Newcastle Jets to a hard-fought 1-0 win over an at-times toothless Melbourne City.

The Jets eased out of the bottom three on the A-League's fledgling ladder with only their second win in seven outings.

A desperate City belatedly found their mojo to finish strongly but last season's grand finalists were unable to avoid a third defeat in seven days.

The Jets seemed to cope better with the hot conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium and could have added to their goal tally, but in the end had to settle for Yuel's strike five minutes before half-time.

Newcastle Jets celebrate Valentino Yuel's goal.
Ashley Feder/Getty Images

The 26-year-old had earlier had an effort somewhat contentiously ruled out after City goalkeeper Tom Glover collided with Newcastle's Roy O'Donovan as the ball crossed the line from Yuel's header.

Yuel's fourth goal of the season came 10 minutes later, though, with a close-range finish after Angus Thurgate's header bounced back off the post.

Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren had an early sight of goal for the Melbourne side but was denied by Jets keeper Jack Duncan, while teammate Adrian Luna missed several opportunities in the second half.