THE Newcastle Jets face an uphill battle to stay in touch with the W-League top four after they slumped to a third straight defeat, going down 2-1 to Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Sunday.
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The Jets finished the stronger but paid the price for a sloppy first half in which they conceded goals to Natasha Dowie (10th minute) and Darian Jenkins (25th).
The visitors were much better in the second half. Gema Simon got them back in the match with her first goal of the campaign in the 61st minute.
They pushed hard for an equaliser but couldn't produce a killer pass or strike.
The loss leaves the Jets treading water in seventh place on four points, seven adrift of Victory in fourth.
They face a must-win match against bottom-placed Adelaide at home on Friday night.
"We were not quite aggressive enough without the ball in the first half," Jets coach Craig Deans said.
"I take a little bit of the blame for that. I wanted them to be more patient without the ball but we gave them too much time. We changed that at half-time which made a big difference. We were the much better of the two teams in the second half. We just lacked a little in the front third again."
Pana Petatos came in for Teigan Collister in the only change from the Jets' side which went down 2-1 to Brisbane.
"I thought Pana Petratos did really well and combined with Tara Andrews in midfield to cause them some problems," Deans said.
The home side struck first through skipper Natasha Dowie in the 10th minute.
US import Darian Jenkins burst down the left and delivered a cross which was flicked on by Rosie Sutton to an unmarked Dowie. The English striker did the rest, nodding a header back across goal into the left corner.
The home side doubled their lead in the 25th minute through Jenkins, who slotted home after a Sutton header rebounded off the post.
Gema Simon nearly pulled a goal back in the 36th minute with a header, but couldn't beat the outstretched arm of Victory keeper Casey Dumont, who turned it around the post.
The Jets upped the tempo after the break. They pressed higher up the pitch and were far more aggressive.
The visitors were rewarded for their endeavor in the 61st minute when a Tara Andrews forward pass was deflected into the path of Simon. The Matilda drove into the box and unleashed a powerful shot which beat Dumont at the near post.
Substitute Lauren Allan had a chance to equalise almost with her first touch in the 75th minute but couldn't control a free header at the back post which flew over the bar.
"There were plenty of positives from the second half," Deans said.
"At the moment we have two jobs. One is to try and win games now. The other is to look beyond this year so that in two or three years we will have some really good players we have developed at the club."
Although behind the eight-ball, Deans has not given up hopes of pushing for a finals berth.
"We probably needed to win today and we thought we could," Deans said. "We play Adelaide twice and have Perth to play again. We need to win those three and we play Victory again. If we play like we did in the second half, there is no reason why we can't win that game. We have five games left and have to get points out of all of them."
