Newcastle Jets 3-0 Brisbane Roar
By Alice de Koster-Kitto 13/12/25
Above: Newcastle Jets (large group on right) celebrate during their 3-0 win over the Brisbane Roar Photo: via A-Leagues
The Newcastle Jets has picked up an impressive win over the Brisbane Roar, picking up an action-packed 3-0 victory. The match was a crucial one across the pitch, with both sides looking to maintain a strong start to the season, while missing crucial players, but ultimately goals to Melina Ayres, Kelli Brown and India Breier saw the Jets get the job done.
Things were fairly even at the top of the match, with no side asserting real dominance in the first few minutes, and the ball fairly evenly distributed through the middle of the pitch.
Libby Copus-Brown made a good pass toward Ayres that could have opened the scoring for the Jets in the 8th minute, however Ayres could not quite make the ball in time to convert it into a real chance.
Roar responded as Grace Kuilamu attempted to play the ball forward, before being intercepted by Tash Prior.
Brisbane continued to take the majority of the opportunities and managed to keep the ball in their attacking end during the first quarter of the match with good attempts following from Bente Jansen and Sharn Freier, however the Jets’ defence managed to hold off the attacking threat.
The hosts got extremely close to opening the scoring as Ayres attempted to skip the ball past Chloe Lincoln in close range, before Lincoln intercepted it at just the right time.
The response from Roar was aggressive, with a dangerously close attempt from Freier in the box, which was saved by Anna Leat. The attempt was followed up by Kijah Stephenson’s touch, which was intercepted by the Jets’ defence.
While play remained strong at both ends, it seemed increasingly likely that the first goal would be scored by Brisbane, as they remained in the attack, and the Jets struggled to move the ball forward in their favour.
Despite Brisbane’s attacking dominance, it was the home side who opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Ayres netted her second goal of the season, finishing a long-range cross from Olivia Page as she skated past Momo Hayashi to strike the ball straight past Lincoln to the back of the net with ease.
Brisbane responded towards the break, putting dangerous pressure on the Jets inside the box that was ultimately intercepted by Leat, who booted the ball across the pitch, allowing Jets to regain possession.
Newcastle Jets were awarded a penalty after a foul on Brown by Leia Varley. Brown took the free kick that swung directly into the top of the net, extending the Jets’ lead, and leaving them ahead 2-0 at the break.
There was a number of halftime substitutions, most surprisingly from Roar, with Jansen making way for Zara Krueger, despite a characteristically strong performance in the first half.
The start of the second half remained just as action-packed as the first, with close attempts at both ends. An attempt from Freier was intercepted by Leat and then was quickly followed up by a strike from Brown at the other end, which was shot over the crossbar.
Kuilamu made an excellent run and attempt that should have converted to a goal for the Roar, if not for the clever interception of Claudia Cicco. Both Cicco and Kuilamu were standouts for their respective sides and made major contributions to the intensity and unpredictability of the match, especially in the second half.
Possession and attacking dominance remained in favour of Brisbane, but Newcastle continued to take the lead and shut down the continuous attempts from the visitors.
Kuilamu made an excellent through ball to Freier that looked as though it should’ve given Roar their first score of the match, but a well-timed interception from Prior kept the ball out.
Breier extended the Jets’ lead in the 71st minute with a powerful shot from distance that flew past the Roar’s defence, and could not be stopped by Lincoln.
A 74th-minute substitution saw Daisy Brown make her Ninja A-League debut for the Roar, as Alicia Woods made way for the 19-year-old.
As stoppage time approached, the match did not slow down. Despite Newcastle holding the heavy lead, Brisbane continued to look for the back of the net, but were still not able to make it past the impeccable defensive performance from the hosts.
After 5 minutes of added time, there were no further goals to be found despite tireless efforts at both ends, leaving the scoreline 3-0 to Newcastle Jets.
Teams: NEWCASTLE JETS (4-3-3): Leat, Page, Cicco, Prior, Bates, Copus-Brown, Davis, Dundas, Brown, Ayres, Breier. Substitutes: Ritchie, Adams, Lancaster, Allan, Karipidis, Collins
Goals: Ayres 32’, Brown 45+1’ (Pen), Breier 71’
BRISBANE ROAR (3-4-4): Lincoln, Hayashi, Varley, Medwin, Miller, Stephenson, Woods, Freier, Meyers, Kuilamu, Jansen. Substitutes: Kruger, Studer, Piazza, Brown, Kinsella, Franco
Referee: Sophie Allum
Attendance: 1,166.
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