THE Newcastle Jets played out a two-all draw with ladder-leaders Melbourne Victory at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
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The match was Newcastle's first at home this season, and the Jets looked sharp early on.
Newcastle took a deserved lead when skipper Kew Jaliens met a Taylor Regan flick from David Carney's corner in the 31st minute.
Joel Griffiths put Newcastle two goals ahead shortly after.
The veteran striker coolly slotted home from the penalty spot on 33 minutes, after the Victory's Ben Khalfallah was adjudged to have fouled Scott Neville in the box.
All signs were pointing towards Newcastle picking up their first win of the season. However, the Victory replied with a goal of their own minutes later when Khalfallah redeemed his error with a close range header in the 36th minute of play.
The Victory began to look even more threatening after half-time, and they were back on level terms on 48 minutes when the prolific Besart Berisha was played in on goal and fired past Jets goalkeeper Mark Birighitti.
Newcastle struggled to regain momentum afterwards, and were lucky to escape with a point from the match.
The Jets welcome reigning champions Brisbane Roar to Hunter Stadium on Friday, November 14. Both sides are in search of their first win for the season.