A cold, damp night greeted Melbourne City in Newcastle and the equation was simple for the reigning champions; win or miss out on defending their title for the first time in their history.
With conditions somewhat reminiscent of a summer’s night in the northeast of England, it was fitting that a British theme set the scene for the opening goal.
A chip into the box from Jess Fishlock found Jodie Taylor who shrugged off Cass Davis, dinking the ball over the Jets goalkeeper before smashing home into the open net.
Two more first-half goals followed in quick succession to seal City’s place in the finals.
What went wrong for Newcastle?
Just like in their first clash with City this season the Jets were once again without key squad members due to injury and illness.
Both Tash Prior and Nikola Orgill rested along with attacker Courtney Vine.
As a result, Hannah Brewer was moved into central defence to partner Davis while Gema Simon came into the starting line-up.
However, the well-established backline was rocked by the changes and didn’t adapt quickly to City’s attack.
The Jets defence was caught out on key occasions in the first half with the first goal saw the back four and the central midfielder sitting too deep.
While the Taylor goal wasn't blocked properly.
Both the second and third goals came from identical set pieces, which have been the Jets achilleas heel because of poor marking.
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