The Newcastle Jets have breathed life into their A-League Women's season with a gritty 2-0 win over top-four side Adelaide United in front of a vocal home crowd at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday afternoon.
Lauren Allan struck twice in the second half, in the 61st then 88th minute, to snap a three-match losing streak for the Jets.
It was Newcastle's second win in seven outings, their first clean sheet and propelled them to seven points and into seventh place.
The Jets, who were penalised heavily by the referee throughout the game, rode their luck and stayed composed in the big moments.
They withstood a mountain of first-half pressure from the fourth-placed Reds (12 points), who until Saturday had only conceded to one other side.
Jets shot-stopper Georgina Worth parried away Melindaj Barbieri's free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box in the 12th minute and blocked Dylan Holmes' shot from close range three minutes later.
Cannon Clough, who was outstanding at left-back for the hosts, then cleared a shot off the goal line with pure desperation in the 28th minute.
The Jets' chances were few and far between in the first half - their best coming when Allan got into their 18-yard box in the 15th minute but her shot lacked conviction.
But the hosts came out of the sheds after half-time firing.
Aside from a nervous moment at the back where a defensive error had Chelsie Dawber lining up what seemed an assured goal from directly in front only to be denied by a scrambling Worth, Newcastle looked the more likely to take the three points.
And they did.
The breakthrough came when captain and hard-working midfielder Cassidy Davis played a long ball over the top of the Reds' backline and Allan swooped, beating Maruschka Waldus in a foot race then scoring over the head of goalkeeper Annalee Grove.
Newcastle produced some desperate and gritty defence across the park to maintain the lead before Allan sealed the deal with two minutes of regulation time remaining.
Tara Andrews played her in behind and the strike weapon slotted past an outstretched Grove and into the bottom left corner of Adelaide's goal. Allan looked as though she may have been offside but the referee did not see it that way and the goal stood.
Andrews returned after missing Newcastle's 2-0 loss to Brisbane in their last outing through illness. She replaced injured attacking player Murphy Agnew (back, hip) in the starting side.
Adriana Konjarski made her first start of the season when she took the place of Jets forward Sarah Griffith, who was a late withdrawal due to a back complaint.
In other games on Saturday afternoon, Sydney beat Brisbane 4-1 and Melbourne Victory defeated Canberra 1-0.
The Jets are back at No.2 Sportsground on January 7 when they host the Sky Blues.
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