Newcastle Jets coach Gary van Egmond has warned there is more to come from his side in the AFC Champions League after the Australians battled back from a goal down to defeat Beijing Guoan 2-1.

The visitors deservedly took the lead in the 69th minute through former Newcastle player Ryan Griffiths, who latched onto a good pass from Guo Hui to net from 12 yards out.

Newcastle gambled on an all-out attack for the final 15 minutes and eventually broke through courtesy of a left-footed volley from Sasho Petrovski in the 88th minute.

Substitute striker Sean Rooney then snatched the winner for the Jets with a scintillating strike from the edge of the area in the final seconds of injury time to end Beijing’s continental campaign.

The Jets, meanwhile, need just a point in their last Group E game against Ulsan Hyundai to take second place and progress to the last 16.

“There is good character in this team,” said van Egmond. “They are really starting to bond and gel and we have got a never die attitude.”

“I am really happy for the boys and I am just really happy about the character that they showed and I think that will put them in really good stead for the rest of this ACL campaign and also for the upcoming A-League.”

Van Egmond added that the win will give the club great confidence for their final group match against Ulsan.

“I think we are getting better with the boys getting more cohesion from being affiliated with each other at everyday training and we feel we can get better again,” he added.

“So we will go there with a lot of confidence after a match like that and we are very much looking forward to it.”

Beijing coach Lee Jang-soo was disappointed by the loss and indicated it was a lack of concentration that allowed Newcastle to steal a come-from-behind win.

“The result is very disappointing for me but I am satisfied with our players,” he said after the match,” he said.
“They tried their best and gave a good performance during the game.

“During the first half some of our players played without confidence especially in controlling the ball. At half-time I requested them to be confident and focus more on attack.

“But with the intensity of the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League, our players were really tired and they had a problem with concentration.”

Source: The-AFC