A stellar performance from goalkeeper Claire Coelho was not enough to stop Brisbane running out 2-1 winners over Newcastle in round seven of the W-League on Sunday at Lions FC Stadium.
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The Roar had 10 shots to Newcastle's one on target in the first half, with 19-4 attempts overall, but the teams were level 1-1 at the break, thanks largely to Coelho.
She then denied livewire Hayley Raso in 47th minute and smothered a Tameka Yallop one-on-one chance in the 51st.
Brisbane, though, took a deserved lead in the 69th minute through Hollie Palmer, who headed into an open goal after Carson Pickett rattled the crossbar.
Tara Andrews, who put Newcastle ahead in the first half, had chances at an equaliser late but her shot was tipped over the bar by Mackenzie Arnold in the 77th minute and she was just wide with a header in the 83rd off a corner. Jenna Kingsley was denied one-on-one in the 87th but Roar also had opportunities late on.
Yallop's chip hit the crossbar in 87th minute and she blazed a shot over an open goal in the 90th. Katrina Gorry was off target with a header in 89th and Coelho dived to stop Pickett's free kick deep in injury time.
Newcastle were under the pump for most of the first half but led until the 41st minute. Coelho made diving saves to deny Raso twice and Pickett once in the opening eight minutes.
However, Newcastle were first to strike when Andrews scored in the 22nd minute. Gema Simon's long free kick found Andrews, who headed to Nikki Flannery. She headed back to Andrews, who converted the close-range chance.
Andrews had a great opportunity to put Newcastle further ahead in the 24th minute when a ball out of defence came to her with Arnold well off her line. Andrews' quick shot from long range was wide.
Flannery was just over the crossbar with a shot in the 28th minute, but the rest of the half belonged to Brisbane, who equalised through Polkinghorne's looping header over Coelho from a long ball in the 41st minute.
Jets coach Craig Deans said his side didn't deserve to get anything out of the game and they needed to improve in possession.
"We were pretty poor with the ball all day," Deans said.
"We turned it over pretty cheaply, which is something we've been talking about a lot. We let ourselves down.
"We went backwards too much with our passes and that encouraged them to get pressure on us.
"But we dug in and fought hard and we defended well for most of the game. They obviously had a lot of chances and Claire did well to keep a few out. But we just didn't get enough shots on target or have enough quality in the front third again."
Teigan Collister returned to the Jets starting side after missing the 2-0 loss to Sydney with hamstring tightness. Annabel Martin made way with an ankle injury.
Newcastle have four points from six games in the 12-match season. Brisbane rose to 10 and fourth spot, ahead of Canberra on goals.
In other results, Western Sydney went joint leaders with Melbourne City on 16 points with a 4-0 win over Canberra, Victory downed Perth 2-1 and Sydney (15 points) beat Adelaide 2-0.