The Newcastle Jets look destined to exit the AFC Champions League Elite in the league stage, falling to a 0–4 record after a two-goal defeat against Shanghai Port at home on Tuesday evening.
Port, led by former A-League-winning coach Kevin Muscat, built a commanding 3–0 lead in the rain-lashed match. The Jets found their way back in with goals from Patrick Wood, scored in the 58th minute, and Xavier Bertoncello in the 80th, but substitute Li Xinxiang sealed Shanghai’s win six minutes later.
The 4–2 loss at McDonald Jones Stadium leaves the Jets in last place in the Asian competition’s East Region standings, having conceded 19 goals through four games.
Things didn’t start well when the Jets were battered 7–1 away by Kashima Antlers in the campaign’s opener, and a 3–1 loss to Gamba Osaka and a 5–2 loss to Kyoto Sanga—a third Japanese club in a row—didn’t help.
The top eight teams from the 16 competitors advance to the Round of 16, and unless something major happens in the remaining four matchdays, the Jets are now staring down the barrel of a brutal Champions League exit.
Some across social media have even suggested it’s time for Newcastle to forget about the ACL Elite campaign, especially because things haven’t been much better in the domestic A-League either. To date, the Jets have started their premiership defence with two draws and then a 3–0 loss to Wellington.
Jets coach Mark Milligan has already asked for patience from the Jets faithful after he had to “hit the reset button” with the Newcastle squad following several star departures, and again put out the same call.
“Slowly, slowly, you’re seeing us get better and better at competing. And it’s going to take time… But when I look at the performance, there’s no red flags there to say that we’re not on the right path,” he said.
“It takes time. We have to continue to learn. We have to continue to grow. We have to continue to accept the lessons, the reasons why results are going the way they’re going.”
“But we have to be brave in what we do,” he added, “because I think, definitely in patches, we’ve shown that we’re good enough to more than compete.”
His rival coach from Tuesday, Muscat, said similarly when asked about Milligan’s early-season struggles. “He always showed leadership qualities out on the field,” the Port coach said. “Did he have the attributes and leadership that could follow him into management? Yeah, for sure.”
“A lot of players have left, and maybe the squad is not as young as it was. In the early stages with a younger squad, they played some good football. They were entertaining and… seemed to be doing very well.”
Jets fans will be hoping that entertainment comes back soon at this stage. Milligan believes it will—and it did take his Novocastrian side several rounds to really hit their stride in 2025/26. This time last season, Newcastle had won one in five in the A-League and were in last place.
The Jets play in the A-League again late on Saturday, travelling to Perth to face the Glory.
