Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic praised the resolve of his side to come back from a goal down to defeat Newcastle 2-1 and move into the A-League top six.
A cracking 25-metre strike from Mitch Nichols in the 86th minute gave the Wanderers victory at Hunter Stadium on Saturday night just 13 minutes after they went behind.
Serbian Enver Alivodic scored in the 73rd minute for Newcastle but the Wanderers equalised in the 79th from the spot after Milos Trifunovic was judged to have pushed Brendan Santalab to the ground.
Andreu stepped up and converted for the visitors.
Nichols then put the Wanderers in front when he beat Mark Birighitti with a powerful low strike from long range.
The round-five win lifted Wanderers to seven points and sixth place.
The loss left Newcastle, who were third before the game, on nine points.
Despite the late escape and a seemingly soft penalty that helped Wanderers draw level, Popovic believed it was a well-deserved victory.
"I thought we controlled large parts of the game," Popovic said.
"It was a good game, it was a tough match, and that's what we expected.
"They are on nine points, full of confidence. It's not easy to come here, but we created some good opportunities first half, second half as well.
"Conceding that goal late on is always a test but the response was magnificent."
Popovic believed "the penalty was a penalty" but was confused about why the Jets goal was awarded.
Alivodic side-footed in a rebound off the crossbar from a Lee Ki-je free kick and the linesman called offside, but after consulting with referee Stephen Lucas, the goal was given.
"It's hard to understand how that isn't offside, but it was given and we can't change that and, in the end, the response was great," Popovic said.
Newcastle were left to rue missed chances from Nigel Boogaard and Ben Kantarovski who hit close-range one-on-one shots wide in the 51st and 59th minutes respectively.
Jets coach Scott Miller said his side got what they deserved.
"I think the intensity in and out of possession needs to be better, and we just need to be much better," Miller said.
"I just didn't think we were at the tempo we needed to be today, especially with the fans here to support the team."
Miller believed his side was gaining a free kick for simulation when the penalty was awarded, but said the decisions evened out over the game.
"As contentious as the penalty was, ours was contentious as well," he said.
"I've only seen that once and it looks like Enver's body is offside. They marry up."
Birighitti was in fine form in the first half as both sides created excellent chances in an open contest.
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