Newcastle Jets coach Mark Milligan has launched a scathing attack on A-League officials, branding their decision to proceed with Saturday's match in sweltering conditions as "farcical" and claiming it made "absolutely no sense".
The furious outburst came after his side's 1-0 defeat to Melbourne City at McDonald Jones Stadium, where temperatures soared above 35 degrees Celsius during the 5pm kick-off.
'It is absolutely a joke'
Milligan expressed disbelief that the match was not delayed or rescheduled, especially after the A-League Women's fixture between the Jets and Central Coast Mariners in Gosford was postponed due to the severe weather.
"How we deal with hot conditions ... it is absolutely a joke how we go about it," Milligan stated post-match.
He criticised the enforced drinks breaks, which occurred every 15 minutes, arguing they ruined the flow of the game. "If you need to have two drinks breaks in a half, then why are we playing a game of football at that time?" he questioned.
The Jets mentor revealed the club had pushed for a delay but were powerless. "We have absolutely no say," he lamented, adding that playing in such heat placed unnecessary stress on players and damaged the spectacle for fans.
A costly error in stifling conditions
The match itself was decided by a single goal in the 27th minute, stemming from a defensive error. Jets defender Mark Natta's poor pass was intercepted, allowing Melbourne City's Kavian Rahmani to score with a left-foot strike.
Despite the challenging conditions, Newcastle created several chances to equalise. Striker Lachie Rose had a goal ruled out for offside in the 54th minute, and Natta later rattled the crossbar with a powerful effort.
Milligan refused to blame the heat for the loss, instead pointing to a lack of composure in front of goal. "I can't fault the players, they worked extremely hard... but they need to understand, when we create those opportunities, it needs to mean something now," he said.
Low crowd and a call for common sense
The extreme weather likely contributed to a dismal crowd figure of just over 3000, the Jets' lowest home attendance in years.
Milligan proposed a simple solution: playing later in the evening. He said he would have had no issue with a 9:30pm kick-off to avoid both the heat and a broadcast clash with the later game in Gosford.
"Play the game later, I don't understand why that is such an issue," Milligan argued. "If we're able to produce a better product, isn't everyone rewarded by that?"
Striker Lachie Rose, who played over 80 minutes in the stifling heat, echoed his coach's sentiments. "It was stinking hot," Rose said, but like Milligan, offered no excuses for the result.
The loss leaves the Newcastle Jets in 11th place on the A-League ladder, just one point above the bottom-placed Melbourne Victory. Their attention now turns to next weekend's clash with the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand.
Melbourne City's victory, their fifth consecutive win in Newcastle, propels them into third position on the table.
