The A-League Men’s All-Stars have sent Newcastle United back home with their tails between their legs after embarrassing the English Premier League club 8-0 at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
Newcastle coach Eddie Howe expressed his lack of enthusiasm during the week about making the long trip down to Australia so soon after the end of the EPL season.
And, just five days after playing their final Premier League game, his Magpies played like a team that couldn’t wait to head back home.
Newcastle fielded a much more inexperienced team than the one that beat Tottenham Hotspur on penalties at the MCG on Wednesday night. Excluding fourth-choice goalkeeper Mark Gillespie, the average age of their starting line-up was 19.5.
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The Magpies were missing multiple mainstays from their side such as Alexander Isak, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Miguel Almiron, Fabian Schar, Sean Longstaff, Anthony Gordon, Martin Dubravka and Dan Burn.
The All-Stars took full advantage and wrapped up the contest in little over half an hour after needing less than five minutes to open the scoring when Wellington star Ben Old rammed it home from 12 yards out at the back post.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 25th minute when Dylan Charlton failed to negotiate Western United veteran Ben Garrucio’s cross from the left and after the 17-year-old Newcastle defender looped it towards his own goal, the ever-alert Nicolas Milanovic pounced and toe-poked it past Gillespie.
Nine minutes later, A-League golden boot winner Adam Taggart made it 3-0 with a magnificent effort from the edge of the box as he turned on a dime and let loose with a peach of a hit that went in off the left upright.
Things fell apart dramatically for the visitors in the second half and in the 62nd minute, Newcastle Jets star Apostolos Stamatelopoulos put the All-Stars four goals to the good against his namesake club when, from 20 yards out, he whipped it magnificently past Gillespie diving at full stretch.
Stamatelopoulos completed his brace 12 minutes later when he made it 5-0 with a tap-in from the goal line after being fed by a beautiful pass from Nestory Irankunda who went on a blistering run down the right in what was a parting gift for the Australian public from the precocious teenager before he heads to Germany to link up with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
The All-Stars scored again in the 82nd minute when Irankunda and Bozhidar Kraev combined to get it to Jake Hollman who tapped it home from a few yards out into an unguarded net under absolutely no pressure.
Jordan Courtney-Perkins made it 7-0 eight minutes later when he popped it home from close range at the back post after mopping up Stamatelopoulos’ header from Tolgay Arslan’s corner and in the first minute of stoppage time an unmarked Kraev completed the rout when he elegantly chipped it over Newcastle goalkeeper Aidan Harris.
The All-Stars’ winning margin could have been even greater. In the 17th minute, Gillespie kicked it straight to Milanovic who gleefully sprinted to 16 yards out and unleashed a strike which had the Newcastle custodian beaten, but incredibly Milanovic watched on in disbelief as it pinballed off both posts and back out again.
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Under their feisty coach Patrick Kisnorbo, the All-Stars treated the match as anything but a friendly and went full throttle from the first whistle.
In many respects it was a case of boys against men as the hosts’ high-intensity press put the young Newcastle team under huge pressure, forcing multiple skill errors, and the more seasoned and experienced All-Stars made sure they capitalised.
The hosts dominated the first half and blitzed Newcastle for shots on goal (12-2) and shots on target (6-1), before ultimately winning both stats convincingly 23-5 and 13-1 respectively.
After coming on in the 71st minute for his first ever Newcastle bow against Tottenham, Aussie teenager Garang Kuol made his maiden start for the Magpies.
Kuol produced Newcastle’s only decent chance of the match in the 25th minute when he fired from 17 yards out but it went straight into the chest of All-Stars goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
Things came full circle for Kuol who landed at Newcastle, thanks largely to his sensational performance for the All-Stars against Barcelona two years ago which grabbed the attention of global scouts.