Central Coast coach Tony Walmsley has hailed his charges' courage after an 10-man Mariners snatched a last-gasp 1-1 A-League draw with Newcastle at Hunter Stadium.
The Mariners played a man down for more than an hour on Saturday and went behind in the 83rd minute but earned a point when substitute Matt Sim scored in the 91st minute.
The goal capped a brave effort from the Mariners, who lost centre-back Jake McGing to a red card in the 24th minute for a lunging challenge on Leonardo which led to the Brazilian being stretchered from the field with a lower leg injury.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Mariners regularly caused turnovers and created chances.
Walmsley was proud of another determined effort from the Mariners, who played the second half with 10 men in a 3-1 loss to Sydney two weeks ago in which the Sky Blues scored two late goals.
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"The belief in the camp is growing and to go down to 10-man for the second time in three games ... it was going to test our resilience again," Walmsley said.
"But we played very well with 11 men, we played very well with 10.
"I think a draw at the end of the day is just reward for certainly the effort they put in and the quality that was there as well."
He said the efforts of captain Nick Montgomery, who switched from midfield to centre-back when McGing was sent off, and defender Jacob Poscoliero inspired their teammates.
Jets coach Scott Miller said he was "appalled" by the performance of his side and their drop in intensity after starting the season with three wins from four games.
"It's not us, it's not what we believe in," Miller said.
"Individual performances need to be reflective of our structures through the week and our intensity through the week.
"We are very concerned that at this point, to an extent, that other teams are getting better."
Newcastle went ahead in the 83rd minute when Serbian striker Milos Trifunovic struck in a glancing header from a David Carney corner kick.
The draw lifted Newcastle to 10 points from six games, while the Mariners went to five points.
It also continued a wretched F3 Derby run for Newcastle, who have not beaten the Mariners since October 2012.
