Newcastle paid the price for missed chances as luck turned against them in a 2-0 loss to last-placed Wellington Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday night.
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After four losses to start the A-League season, the Jets began a five-game unbeaten run with a 2-1 win over Wellington on January 24.
They looked likely to extend their streak in the early stages on Sunday, but fortune was on Wellington's side in the 22nd minute when David Ball's strike deflected off the legs of Jets skipper Nigel Boogaard and snuck inside the post past a stranded Jack Duncan.
The Jets were shocked again in the 53rd minute when Ben Waine beat Duncan with a long-range strike.
Johnny Koutroumbis had intercepted an attempted Wellington through-ball but his touch fell to Waine who fired his low shot just inside the post.
The loss, and other results, dropped Newcastle from sixth to ninth place on 11 points.
The Jets created several opportunities early without a result, much to the frustration of coach Craig Deans.
"We had heaps of opportunities in that first 25, 30 minutes and on another day you might be a couple of goals up but tonight we just weren't quite good enough in the front third when it mattered," Deans said.
"You have those nights, but we're very, very disappointed because the goals we conceded weren't great goals.
"They were a little bit of our own doing, so a frustrating night but, look, we weren't good enough to score and create opportunities so we let ourselves down."
Both sides were frustrated with the officiating on the night and Deans expressed his reasons after the match.
"There's no point booking someone for time wasting in the 92nd minute," he said.
"You are not going to make any impact on the game, so if you think there's time wasting, which there was, and you know what, that's their prerogative, if they want to do that, go for it, they are desperate. The thing is it needs to be stopped quickly, not in the 92nd minute.
"That's the frustrating thing from our point of view, but we are frustrated because we didn't play well and we didn't win the game.
"We didn't punish mistakes and we didn't make the most of the opportunities that we created in the first 30 minutes. And they had two opportunities to shoot, I think, and they scored both of them."
Matt Millar couldn't get his foot to a Roy O'Donovan ball in the fourth minute. O'Donovan then had a one-on-one shot blocked in the seventh minute and a header slide wide a minute later.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley had two great opportunities in the 19th minute, missing the chance to poke in a ball at the left post, before hitting a header wide at the other.
The chances continued for the hosts after they went behind. Steve Ugarkovic had a strike deflected just wide in the 31st minute and O'Donovan shot over the bar in the 34th.
The Jets went close when Valentino Yuel's diving header in the 51st minute was tipped around the post by Oliver Sail.
Tempers threatened to boil over between Connor O'Toole and Wellington's Louis Fenton in the 58th minute. Phoenix had calls late for a penalty sent to a sideline review before they were dismissed.
While tempers flared in the game, coaching staff and players also had heated exchanges after full-time.
"I went over because one of their coaches was trying to intimidate our players, so I don't think that's right, so I went over there and tried to fix the situation," Deans said.
"They should walk off the field happy they won 2-0, so I'm not sure why that happened."
"We didn't punish mistakes and we didn't make the most of the opportunities that we created in the first 30 minutes. And they had two opportunities to shoot, I think, and they scored both of them."
A desperate Matt Millar couldn't get his foot to a Roy O'Donovan ball in the fourth minute. O'Donovan then had a one-on-one shot blocked in the seventh minute and a header slide wide a minute later.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley had two great opportunities in the 19th minute, missing the chance to poke in a nodded-on ball at the left post, before hitting a header wide at the opposite side moments later.
The chances continued for the hosts after they went behind. Steve Ugarkovic had a long-range strike deflected just wide in the 31st minute and O'Donovan shot over the bar in the 34th, but Newcastle went to the break behind.
The Jets threatened again after the break when Valentino Yuel's diving header in the 51st minute off Topor-Stanley's ball in was tipped around the post by Oliver Sail.
Phoenix, though, stunned the home crowd again, making 2-0 shortly after.
Tempers threatened to boil over in a clash between Connor O'Toole and Wellington's Louis Fenton in the 58th minute after the Jets defender was booked.
Phoenix had calls late for a penalty against Topor-Stanley on Ball sent to a sideline review before they were dismissed.
Jets substitute Apostolos Stamatelopoulos had an injury-time shot from close range but found only Sail, who was outstanding for the visitors.
While tempers flared during the game, coaching staff and players also had heated exchanges just after full-time.
"I went over because one of their coaches was trying to intimidate our players, so I don't think that's right, so I went over there and tried to fix the situation," Deans said.
"They should walk off the field happy they won 2-0, so I'm not sure why that happened."
Craig Kerry
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
