You could not wipe the grin off Lauren Allan's face after the Jets' 2-0 win over Adelaide United at No.2 Sportsground on a perfect Saturday afternoon.
The home-grown forward, who has started every match of her fourth A-League Women's campaign, had just fired Newcastle to a much-needed victory with two second-half goals.
But the tireless 26-year-old was happier with so much more than just her own impressive performance, which took her 2022-23 tally to a season equal-best of three goals.
More importantly, at the other end of the field, the Jets got through 90 minutes without conceding.
It is a feat they had not managed in six previous encounters and Newcastle went into the clash against a miserly Adelaide having leaked a league-worst 18 goals.
The result was built on pure grit and determination, and Allan believes it was "exactly what we needed" after slipping away from the competition's front-runners with three successive losses.
"It's good for my confidence to score some goals but mainly for the girls to get the three points," Allan said post-match.
"We definitely needed a huge confidence boost. We'd conceded quite a bit in the last few games and coming off a 2-0 loss to Brisbane we really just needed a win.
"We all came in really firing, ready to go, just wanting to pump each other up, and the main thing to have fun and start the new year on a high. It's exactly what we needed.
"Hopefully we can carry that on next week as well and make this our fortress at home, start fresh with the new year and get going."
The Jets improved to seven points and moved from ninth position to seventh as they eye another big test in high-flying Sydney FC at No.2 Sportsground next Saturday.
The Sky Blues joined Melbourne City on the top of the competition standings on 15 points after defeating Brisbane (10 points) 4-1 at AJ Kelly Park on Saturday.
The Jets, who were penalised heavily by the referee throughout the game, rode their luck and stayed composed in the big moments to secure their second win of the season.
They withstood a mountain of first-half pressure from the Reds (12 points), who until Saturday had only conceded twice and slipped to fifth after the loss.
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 in the 28th minute.
Aside from a nervous moment at the back where a defensive error had Chelsie Dawber lining up a 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 in a strong second half.
The breakthrough came in the 61st minute when captain 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.
Allan sealed the deal in the 88th minute after Tara Andrews played her in behind and the strike weapon slotted past an outstretched Grove into the bottom left corner of Adelaide's goal.
The win came without key attacking players Murphy Agnew (hip, back) and Sarah Griffith (back). It is hoped both Americans will be back in action against Sydney.
Victory (12 points) improved to fourth place with a 1-0 win over Canberra (5) at CB Smith Reserve on Saturday.
Unbeaten Western United (12) were playing Perth (5) in Perth on Sunday night.
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