Brockie brace helps Wellington beat Jets

November 17, 2012
By Angela Habashy

A Jeremy Brockie brace against his former team secured Wellington their sixth straight win over Newcastle to leap into the top six from last place on the A-League ladder.Brockie scored in each half at Hunter Stadium on Sunday, with Paul Ifill rounding out the 3-0 win with a penalty in the dying minutes.The Jets, who remain in the top three despite the loss, have not managed to beat the Phoenix in almost two years with a 1-0 win in November, 2010 their last victory in the fixture.Neither side really got on top in the early exchanges in a match that lacked intensity for most of the first half.The first real chance of the match wasn't until the 34th minute when Phoenix striker Alexander Smith got on the end of a ball into the box only to direct his powerful header just wide.Emile Heskey had the Jets' best chance of the half when a James Brown ball fell to him standing just inside the six yard box but the former England international couldn't connect well, his strike easily blocked by the Phoenix defence.But it was Brockie - who scored nine goals for the Jets last season - who opened the scoring, getting on the end of an Ifill cross to put Wellington up against his former team a minute before the break.The visitors dictated play from the restart with the Jets still stuck in second gear.Brockie looked like doubling Wellington's advantage when he found himself in an eternity of space and one on one with the 'keeper.While Mark Birighitti did well to save the effort, he ended up the casualty of an horrific collision when Brockie's knee connected with the gloveman's face in an effort to get the rebound.Newcastle's reserve 'keeper Matthew Nash came on for the last 20 minutes.A sensational strike from Brockie put the game beyond doubt with less than 10 minutes left.But it was Ifill who put the final nail in the coffin in the 87th minute when Wellington were awarded a penalty after Josh Mitchell brought Benjamin Totori down in the box, with the Barbados international making no mistake from the spot.