Newcastle Jets boss Arthur Papas praised the resilience of his players and was proud of the way they fought hard in a 3-2 defeat against the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The defeat was a blow to their slim chances of playing finals this season and they are now priced at 8/1 to finish in the top six of the A-League.
Rampant Wanderers
The Jets looked set to be on the wrong end of a hiding after the Wanderers got the game off to an electric start when racing in to a 3-0 lead within the opening 21 minutes.
Goals from Steven Ugarkovic, Jack Rodwell and Ramy Najjarine had them in control and had Jack Rodwell not had two goals disallowed, the home side would have been even further in front.
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But the Jets showed great spirit when fighting their way back in to the game in the second half thanks to goals from Jason Hoffman and Samual Silvera in the 67th and 75th minutes respectively.
Papas saluted the way his side fought back after conceding that the Wanderers were the much better side in the first half.
Papas proud
"Clearly (Wanderers) were much better in the first half and deservedly in front," Papas told reporters after the game. "In the second half, we put them under pressure. They still had moments as well but I really felt we could get something out of the game at 3-2.
"We didn't get something but the most important part was that we didn't throw the towel in. I'm proud of their resilience to get back into the game."
