Western Sydney Wanderers’ regeneration gathered pace thanks to a scrappy 1-0 defeat of a wasteful Newcastle Jets in the Liberty A-League.
After going 364 days without a victory, the Wanderers have won three of their last five games and could finish the round as high as sixth on the ladder.
The Jets, meanwhile, have conceded a total of 10 goals in three consecutive losses and will finish the weekend rock bottom if Wellington Phoenix beat Brisbane Roar on Sunday.
Both sides lacked cohesion in midfield early on and it looked like any goals were going to have to come from set pieces on a stiflingly hot afternoon at Wanderers Football Park.
But in the 36th minute, Sophie Harding tapped the ball to midfielder Olivia Price and the Wanderers made good on their first proper foray into the final third.
Price’s strike deflected off Jets defender Taren King, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and past goalkeeper Georgina Worth.
The goal clearly lifted the Wanderers but it was the Jets who had the better of the second-half chances.
The stats say Newcastle convert a higher percentage of their big chances than any other side in the league but they missed two golden opportunities to equalise on Saturday.
Ash Brodigan pounced on a cross from the left wing but mistimed her shot, belting it over the bar.
Later, substitute Adriana Konjarski failed to execute on a one-on-one with Jordyn Bloomer, her strike bouncing off the goalkeeper’s hands.
Harding cramped up in the heat in the final 10 minutes and was replaced by Jitka Chlastakova.
The Jets continued to press as time ticked down but the Wanderers held on for their third victory of the season – and their first over the Jets from the sides’ last five meetings.
With the season now past its halfway point, the Jets will be desperate to keep their campaign on track when they meet the out-of-sorts Canberra – who lost 5-0 at home to Western United on Saturday – next weekend.
