Milos Ninkovic is weeks away from celebrating his 38th birthday but the two-time Johnny Warren Medallist is showing no signs of slowing down. Just check out his display in Western Sydney Wanderers’ 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets.
Chances were few and far between until Ninkovic unlocked Newcastle’s defence on the stroke of half-time at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Ninkovic, who made the big off-season move from rivals Sydney FC to the Wanderers, split Newcastle with a sublime pass to Calem Nieuwenhof before Romain Amalfitano eventually scored moments away from half-time.
The 37-year-old did not slow down in the second half after Brandon Borrello doubled the lead, putting in a 92-minute performance to ensure Western Sydney preserved their undefeated start to the season through four rounds.
“That kind of class is permanent. The legs and lungs might go but when you have that kind of class and experience, that will come through in those moments,” Paramount+ analyst Grace Gill said.
Paramount+ commentator Daniel McBreen added: “It was going to take a moment of someone to do something, some inventiveness. There hadn’t been any of that up until that point. Then you rely on old faithful Milos Ninkovic.
“… beautiful ball to break the defence.”
McBreen continued: “[The game] needed someone and Milos Ninkovic is that kind of player who can take the match by the scruff of the neck and open it up.”
NINKOVIC: I STILL ENJOY PLAYING
Much has been made about Milos Ninkovic and his age following that cross-town switch to Wanderland.
The question was – how often would Ninkovic play under Marko Rudan at the Wanderers? He started 17 of 22 matches in his final season with the Sky Blues, scoring three goals.
In red and black, Ninkovic has barely put a foot wrong, starting all four of Western Sydney’s matches in 2022-23.
Ninkovic amassed 87 minutes in Round 1, 79 minutes away to Melbourne Victory in the second round and 90 minutes last week before another 92 minutes on Friday night.
“I still enjoy playing and training everyday,” the former Serbia international told Paramount+.
“I came here to help the team, to win games. How long am I going to play – am I going to start, play every game or be on the bench? No one knows.
“But as I said, I’m really enjoying it. We have a great group of people. Look four games and 10 points, it’s not bad but we need to keep going.”
