Coach Ash Wilson praised the Jets' resilience but rued defensive lapses in a bittersweet 2-2 draw against Perth at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.
The Jets trailed twice but fought back on both occasions to level the score and ensure they took a point from the round-three A-League Women's clash played in front of 1230 boisterous Newcastle supporters.
But it was a disappointing result after the hosts had dominated large parts of the game and created nearly twice as many scoring opportunities as their opponents.
In a worrying trend, it was the third time in as many outings that they had conceded two goals.
"Most of the time if you score two goals at home, you're in a good position to win the game, so we have to make sure we're not giving away cheap goals," Wilson said. "We need to make sure we're winning games and we're putting away chances that we are creating.
"When we have enough territory and enough possession and enough entries into the box to put away chances and score goals, we need to make sure we're doing that, and we also need to make sure we're switched on for all 90 minutes."
The draw kept Newcastle fifth on four points after three games. They lost 2-1 to Brisbane in round one before routing Western Sydney 4-2 in round two.
But they now face back-to-back road trips to Melbourne, starting with City.
City are unbeaten in two starts and pushed aside Roar 3-0 at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon. It could have been more had Chilean Maria Rojas not missed a penalty in the ninth minute.
"They've had a really positive start to the season," Wilson said.
"They've got class but we're not scared of anyone. There's no team that we're threatened by. You have to respect your opponent ... but we also have belief in what we're trying to do.
"While it wasn't a 90-minute performance, there were some really good signs. If we can get it to click for large parts of the game, then I think we'll be a really big challenge for them."
The Jets were well in control of the first half against Perth, producing some impressive attacking interplay without reward before American Rylee Baisden struck in the 42nd minute with the first of her match double.
Baisden gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage going to the break with a leaping volley at the back post after compatriot Cyera Hintzen had beaten Jets right-back Tessa Tamplin on the left and crossed into the box. The goal started from a goal kick and was Perth's first scoring opportunity of the match.
It came nine minutes after Tamplin had given Newcastle their best chance of the first half with a long-range effort which was parried away by goalkeeper Sarah Langman.
The first equaliser came through a desperate and dogged Lauren Allan.
Sarah Griffith, the Jets hat-trick hero one week earlier, won the ball in the middle of the park and sent it long.
Perth centre-back Isabella Wallhead got a touch on the ball but was outmuscled by Allan for the scraps and the Jets striker chipped Langman into an open net to the delight of the Newcastle faithful.
But it took just four minutes for Perth to regain the lead, this time with a quickly taken free kick from just inside the Jets half.
The Jets were still getting into position when the ball was played down the left to Wallhead, who had plenty of space and time to cross into the box for Baisden to complete a match brace with a glancing header.
"When you look at the goals we've conceded, there are definitely things that are preventable," Wilson said.
"Whether it's just improving our focus and not switching off in moments, whether it's getting a bit more pressure on the ball or winning our duels.
"Those kinds of things have probably been a bit costly for us and, again, in moments not capitalising on those areas puts us under pressure."
Again Newcastle rallied and levelled for a second time in the 77th minute through substitute Ash Brodigan, whose goal came in similar fashion to Allan.
Sophie Stapleford played a searching ball deep into Perth territory. It was headed down by Elizabeth Anton but Brodigan beat the Glory defender to the loose ball then finished into the bottom right corner at a tight angle with Langman advancing.
"That's the reality of football ... you can still have most possession, you can still have most shots on goal, but if you switch off for a moment and the other team can capitalise on it then that can put you in a difficult place," Wilson said.
"Credit to the girls, they kept the belief that they were always in the match and they got themselves back to two-all, and they were still pushing at the end to go ahead.
"But I would rather us not be in that position where we're fighting to get that point."
Bryleeh Henry gave City a 1-0 half-time lead over Brisbane on Saturday with a shot into the bottom right corner after a Rojas assist. Rojas made it 2-0 with a close-range header in the 51st and Emina Ekic completed the rout in the 80th minute.
Also on Saturday, Remy Siemsen produced a long-range effort in the 82nd minute at Marconi Park to seal a 1-0 win for a 10-player Sydney against Western Sydney.
Sky Blues player Natalie Tobin was red-carded in the 44th minute for a second yellow card offence.
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