Jets bounce back
Newcastle bounced back to form with a 2-0 home win over North Queensland while Wellington and Perth shared the points in Sunday Hyundai A-League action.
Wellington extended its unbeaten home run to 13 games but left it late to secure a 1-1 draw with Perth Glory at Westpac Stadium.
The Phoenix has not lost at home since going down 1-0 to Queensland Roar in October last year, but that record looked in danger of being broken when Glory took the lead in the 68th minute with a well-struck free-kick by Wayne Srhoj.
But the Wellington side stepped up a gear in the final 10 minutes and was rewarded when Paul Ifill stole in to fire the rebound home after substitute Adrian Caceres- shot was blocked by Perth keeper Tando Velaphi.
Wellington pressed hard for the winner in an exciting closing few minutes to no avail but on balance a draw was probably a fair result.
Newcastle ended North Queensland's five-match unbeaten Hyundai A-League run with a solid 2-0 win at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday evening.
The Jets dominated the match controlling the ball in the midfield and creating a host of goal-scoring opportunities while their defence, well-marshalled by Ljubo Milicevic, kept the Robbie Fowler-led Fury attack quiet.
Fury goalkeeper Paul Henderson made a number of impressive saves to keep his side in the contest but he was unable to deny Newcastle skipper Matt Thompson scoring from point-blank range in the 55th minute. Englishman Michael Bridges sealed the win for the Jets with a penalty in the 85th minute.
The win lifts Newcastle off the bottom of the table, moving the club to 16 points and just a point outside the top six, while North Queensland slides back to tenth at the halfway stage of the 2009/10 season.
In Sunday National Youth League action, a Nathan Elasi hat-trick secured Melbourne a 4-1 win over Central Coast at the Veneto Club in Bulleen, Newcastle also won 4-1 over the AIS, while Gold Coast defeated Sydney 2-0.