Wellington Phoenix women are still searching for their maiden A-League Women's victory, slipping to a last-gasp 1-0 defeat to Newcastle Jets at Gosford on Monday.
With scores locked at 0-0 heading into the final 10 minutes at Central Coast Stadium, a brave resistance from the Phoenix was ended, as midfielder Cassidy Davis' shot cannoned into the crossbar.
But the ball dropped kindly and landed ahead of the oncoming Jemma House, who bundled the ball past a scrambling Lily Alfeld in the Phoenix goal to give the Jets the decider in the 82nd minute.
Despite the defeat though, there were plenty of positives for the Phoenix - who'd lost 5-1 to the same opposition earlier in December.
"That game was like chalk and cheese for us," coach Gemma Lewis says. "We were competitive in this game. We were struggling to even be competitive the last time we played them.
"It's one of those things where I'm stoked of the turnaround between games and the performances, and the girls really stepped up.
"But conceding in the late stages of the game is always a hard one to swallow, especially when I think we had moments to nick it."
The Phoenix did create chances of their own, with Chloe Knott, Kelli Brown, Grace Wisnewski and Zoe McMeeken, but weren't able to beat Jets goalkeeper Georgia Boric.
The Kiwi side can also feel hard done by, with a penalty shout against Knott denied by the referee - as the striker went to ground inside the area under a challenge.
"From where I was standing it looked like there was a lot in the back and the ankles were clipped," adds Lewis.
"Chloe was trying to hold her ground and she couldn't and she kind of got pushed through. But I'd have to look back at the footage."
The defeat leaves the Phoenix bottom of the A-League Women's ladder, with a solitary point from their opening four matches; a scoreless draw in their debut match against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Phoenix will look to rebound quickly, returning to action on Thursday night (NZ time) against Sydney FC at Wollongong.
