Roy O'Donovan is enjoying life back at the Newcastle Jets.
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The Irishman scored his third goal in three games to send the Jets on the way to a 3-0 shut down of Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Sunday night.
O'Donovan put the visitors ahead in the 41st minute before two goals in three minutes to Matt Millar (51st minute) and Steve Ugarkovic (54th) sealed the win.
It was the Jets' second consecutive victory and propelled them above Melbourne Victory to 21 points. They are six points behind sixth-placed Western United with six games remaining.
However, the big improvers will have to wait until March 28 and an away clash against Central Coast for a chance to move further up the ladder.
The Jets are scheduled to host Wellington Phoenix next Sunday but that match is set to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wellington will travel to Australia on Tuesday and spend 14 days in isolation under new federal government travel edicts.
The win over the Reds stretched the Jets' unbeaten run to six games, including four under Carl Robinson.
The undefeated streak matches the six games without loss under Ernie Merrick in 2017-18 on the way to a grand final berth.
O'Donovan was central to that campaign and he has played a key role in the current revival after returning from Brisbane in January.
He has three goals in five appearances for Newcastle and nine for the season.
"We have a glimmer of hope," a delighted O'Donovan said of the Jets' play-off charge. "We have some big games to come. I thought we played well today. We were good value. We tested Adelaide and took our chances when they came along."
The Jets were under early pressure but once they got a foothold on the game, they took control.
The second half was almost one-way traffic.
Nigel Boogaard and Nikolai Topor-Stanley were immense, Millar was dynamite up the right touchline and Ugarkovic pulled the strings.
Wes Hoolahan made his starting debut up front in place of Abdiel Arroyo, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Adelaide were coming off a 5-1 thrashing to Western United and came out with plenty of intent.
The further the half went the more the Jets grew.
The goal came in the 41st minute. Ugarkovic released Dimi Petratos down the right and the fringe Socceroo whipped a cross behind the defence and into the path of O'Donovan for a tap-in. It was Petratos' eighth assist of the campaign.
The Reds continued to play with a high line in defence and paid the price again five minutes into the second half.
Nigel Boogaard knocked a pass over the top for Millar. The right back took a touch and then lifted a shot over keeper Paul Izzo and into the back of the net.
The Reds' heads dropped. A minute later it was 3-0.
Hoolahan released Burns and he snapped a cross for Ugarkovic to power a header from 15 metres into the right corner.
