RILEY McGree came back to haunt his old club with a stunning brace as Adelaide United staged a second-half revival to beat the Newcastle Jets 2-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
McGree's headline-grabbing scorpion kick goal famously sent the Jets into the 2017-18 A-League grand final.
The 20-year-old departed for Melbourne City last season before returning home to Adelaide this campaign. The Jets tried to sign him on each occasion.
On Saturday, McGree showed exactly what they missed out on
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder made a late run onto the box to slot home a James Troisi cutback in the 49th minute, which cancelled out Abdiel Arroyo's stunning 37th minute opener.
The former Socceroo then made the most of a strong wind to curl a corner into the net much to the aghast of Jets keeper Glen Moss and put the visitors ahead after 60 minutes.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Matt Millar and Nigel Boogaard had late headers but the home side couldn't conjure an equaliser.
Watch the throw! Matty Millar's loooong throw sets up a beautiful finish from @abdielarroyo to give us the lead! #NEWvADL#ALeague#MadeOfNewcastlepic.twitter.com/mIKYOZ7hr6
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) October 26, 2019
The win was Adelaide's first in the league and came just three days after they hoisted the FFA Cup for a second straight year.
The night had started so promising for the Jets.
The home side controlled much of the first half and went to the break ahead 1-0 after a piece of Arroyo magic.
On the balance of play, they could easily have been in front by more.
They were camped at the Reds' end for long periods, led the shot count 12-4, delivered 22 balls into the box and had four corners to two.
Apart from a couple of bright flashes from wonder boy Al Hassan Toure aside, Moss didn't have a lot to do in the opening 45 minutes.
Ernie Merrick kept faith in the starting XI that opened the season with a 1-all draw against the Mariners.
Johnny Koutroumbis was given another chance at left back ahead of Bobby Burns and Ben Kantarovski returned from injury on bench.
Gertjan Verbeek made two changes to the Adelaide side that demolished Melbourne City 4-0 in the FFA Cup final on Wednesday night.
Troisi came in for his debut in midfield in place of Michael Maria and Danish striker Kristian Opseth replaced Nikola Mileusnic, with Toure moving from the point of the attack to the left.
The hot south-westerly which had baked the Hunter eased slightly by kick-off, but the Jets still had a strong wind at their back in the first half.
The home side had a golden chance to go ahead inside 30 seconds when Koutroumbis burst down the left and whipped a ball across the face of goal. All it needed was a touch, but neither Arroyo or Hoffman could make contact.
The opening 15 minutes was all the Jets. Steven Ugarkovic and Matthew Ridenton were given acres of space in midfield and were able link with the fullbacks who had bombed forward..
Toure, still on a high after his FFA Cup heroics, had the visitors first chance in the 15th minute when he dribbled into the box but his shot lacked venom.
Hoffman had a shot palmed away in the 35th minute as the Jets continued to dictate terms
Finally, the pressure produced a goal in the 37th minute.
Millar delivered a long throw into the guts of the Adelaide penalty area. Arroyo showed composure to chest the ball down and hit a stinging volley on the turn which nearly burst the back of the net.
The Jets were full of running but Adelaide managed to hang on until half-time.
In need of a spark, Verbeek introduced Mileusnic for Opseth.
The move paid almost instant dividends.
Four minutes into the second half, Troisi made a run in behind and cut a ball back for McGree, who made a late burst into the box and slotted home with his left foot.
McGree, after having an in-swinging corner tipped over the bar Glen Moss, produced an almost identical replay second around. Only this time it had more whip from the wind. Moss flapped at the ball late but it beat everyone and nestled in the far corner.
The Jets thought they had an equaliser in the 69th minute when Ridenton swooped on a rebound and drilled a shot into the left corner. However, the VAR correctly ruled that the ball had struck the upper arm of Arroyo in the lead up.
Jets (4-2-1-3): Glen Moss; Matt Millar, Nigel Boogaard, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Johnny Koutroumbis; Steve Ugarkovic (Ben Kantarovski 68 min), Matthew Ridenton; Dimi Petratos; Nick Fitzgerald (Angus Thurgate), Abdiel Arroyo, Jason Hoffman (Makis Petratos 82 min)
Adelaide (4-3-3): Paul Izzo; Ryan Strain, Michael Marrone, Michael Jakobsen, Ryan Kitto; Louis D'Arrigo, Riley McGree, James Troisi; Ben Halloran, Kristian Opseth (Nikola Mileunsnic 46 min), Al Hassan Toure (Nathan Konstandopoulos 79 min)
Res: Isaac Richards, Michael Maria, Vince Lia, Nathan Konstandopoulos, Nikola Mileunsnic
