THE Newcastle Jets have failed to build on last weekend's breakthrough win, going down 1-0 to Melbourne Victory.
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Newcastle were gallant in defeat at AAMI Park, with the only goal of the game coming in the 86th minute courtesy of Gui Finkler's superb free-kick.
Jets coach Phil Stubbins tinkered with the line-up for the clash against the high-flying Victory.
David Carney was dropped to the bench with the Jets lining up in what was essentially a 3-5-2 formation.
Holding-midfielder Ben Kantarovski was given the task of shadowing Victory's main man Finkler, although he was powerless to prevent the Brazilian's unstoppable free-kick from hitting the back of the net in the dying stages of the match.
The match was largely controlled by the home side, with Newcastle forced to produce some impressive scrambling defence on several occasions.
Tunisian Ben Khalfallah was a constant threat for the Victory, the pint-sized winger went close to finding the net mid-way through the second-half with a stinging drive that rebounded off the cross-bar.
The Jets were reduced to counter-attacks but failed to create any clear scoring opportunities.
Kantarovski spurned a half-chance with 10 minutes remaining, opting to shoot when it would have been wiser to pass to an un-marked Joel Griffiths on the edge of the box.
The winner came in spectacular fashion when James Virgili fouled Besart Berisha just outside Newcastle's penalty area.
Finkler duly stepped up to fire the ball past Ben Kennedy's outstretched hands and into the top corner.
It was a bitter pill for the Jets to swallow, having worked tirelessly to keep the Victory's rampant attack at bay for the majority of the match.
Newcastle welcome fellow strugglers Melbourne City to Hunter Stadium on Tuesday night, with Newcastle looking to close the gap between them and the top six.