Updated
An awful week for the Newcastle Jets has ended in the worst possible fashion, losing 3-0 to Perth Glory in the west on Friday night.
Two goals to Travis Dodd and a controversial penalty to Shane Smeltz gave the Glory a vital victory, ending a five-game winless streak.
The Newcastle team has been under financial pressure, with the Australian Tax Office announcing it was seeking the winding up of the Jets and the NRL's Newcastle Knights, both owned by financially troubled businessman Nathan Tinkler.
A good start was vital for the Jets, and they looked like opening the scoring in the fifth minute when James Virgili broke clear down the left.
However Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic stayed on his feet and timed his block perfectly to keep Virgili's shot out.
Perth gradually got on top, and when the breakthrough came just on half-time it was well-deserved.
Debutant Mitchell Oxborrow gave the ball away, and Dodd raced in and slotted the ball past Matthew Nash into the net.
Four minutes into the second half, Dodd had his second, beating Nash with a glancing header from a corner after being left with far too much room by the Jets' defence.
The goal took the wind out of Newcastle's sails, and even though they tried to get back in the match they could not find the right finish.
The most controversial incident of the match came with a quarter of an hour left, when Josh Mitchell went for the ball in the penalty area but was adjudged to have fouled striker Shane Smeltz.
Smeltz stepped up and converted the penalty to end any discussion about where the three points were headed.
Perth Glory: 3 (Dodd 45', 49', Smeltz 75')
Newcastle Jets: 0
Topics: sport, soccer, a-league, perth-6000, wa, newcastle-2300, nsw, australia
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