The Newcastle Jets' A-League finals hopes have been dealt a mortal blow with Western Sydney Wanderers holding them off to claim a dramatic 3-2 win in Wednesday night's contest at CommBank Stadium.
Propelled by goals from former Jets Steven Ugarkovic and and Ramy Najjarine, as well as one from Jack Rodwell, the Wanderers looked to be sitting pretty early.
They could even have been leading 5-0 before their foes roused a response had Rodwell not had two goals disallowed.
Nonetheless, with their season effectively on the line, the Jets adjusted at halftime and rallied.
Jason Hoffman netted in the 67th minute to make it 3-1 and Samuel Silvera reduced the deficit further in the 76th.
But heartbreakingly for the Novocastrians, that was where it ended.
For the Wanderers, taking full advantage of the Jets' suspect defence, it was a display of lethality from their attack that has been sorely missing throughout their 2021-22 campaign.
"The best 60 minutes we've played since I've been here," coach Mark Rudan said.
"We absolutely annihilated them. I thought it was one-way traffic.
"They had two shots on goal and they scored two goals. We need to get better in that department.
"Otherwise, we were superb."
Days after coach Arthur Papas declared his Newcastle side needed to win all their remaining games to play finals, they fell at the first hurdle.
"Clearly Wanderers were much better in the first half and deservedly in front," Papas said.
"In the second half, we put them under pressure.
"They still had moments as well but I really felt we could get something out of the game at 3-2.
"We didn't get something but the most important part was that we didn't throw the towel in.
"I'm proud of their resilience to get back into the game."
Rather than closing the gap on the top six, the Jets' lead over Wanderers has now evaporated and they sit level in ninth and 10th on the table on 25 points - seven adrift of sixth-placed Macarthur FC.
The Jets face F3 Derby rivals Central Coast at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday while the Wanderers can derail another finals push when they travel to New Zealand to take on Wellington.
Despite the significant odds, neither side has been mathematically eliminated from finals football.
Nonetheless, neither coach would be drawn on playing spoiler or a surging finals push.
"That performance is all I expect," said Rudan.
"That kind of intensity.
"It should have been six. It's as simple as that."
