Melbourne City almost certainly killed off Newcastle's final hopes with a 2-0 win at AAMI Park on Saturday.
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The win elevated unbeaten City to 25 points, six clear of second-placed Sydney, while the seventh-placed Jets were left languishing on four points, 10 adrift of the top four with four games remaining.
Newcastle took confidence into the match as the only team to have taken a point off City this season after they drew 1-1 in round one.
But the game was only seven minutes old when the hosts hit the lead through Milica Mijatovic.
Kyah Simon's cross from the right found an unmarked Mijatovic lurking on the edge of the box. The Serbian international took a touch away from advancing defender Tessa Tamplin and fired the ball into the net.
Former Newcastle captain and Novocastrian Emily van Egmond extended the lead to 2-0 in the 50th minute when her shot from the top of the box rocketed through the Jets defence and into the bottom left corner.
City dominated possession but Newcastle also had scoring opportunities go begging. In the 86th minute Jenna Kingsley had the defence beat but put her shot from the edge of the box just wide of the goals and had a strike on target saved by Melbourne goalkeeper Lydia Williams in the 54th. Tara Andrews put a free header off a corner over the bar in the 57th minute.
Newcastle sustained an early blow when they lost striker Nicki Flannery to injury around the 10-minute mark.
The Jets return to Newcastle to host Perth - the only team they have beaten this season - at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.