The Newcastle Jets came back from 2-0 down to play out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Adelaide United on Saturday afternoon.

With the clock ticking down it was clear to all at Wanderers Oval that it was now or never if the Jets were going to avoid the worst record in W-League history.

In the 91st minute the ball was franticly cleared by the Adelaide defence but only as far as Ciara McCormack who sent a long ball into the area as her Newcastle teammates scrambled to get something on it, anything to steer it into the back of the net.

It was a Newcastle player who got her head to the ball lobbing the keeper Melissa Barbieri before nestling in the back of the net as the home crowd erupted with a mixture of delight and relief.

The Jets finally had finished with a point.

A reward to show for a match that they had mostly dominated in terms of position and shots, a point to show for their fighting qualities and hard work in what had been a tough season.

It was unclear to the many onlookers in that moment just who had got the final touch, before it was realised that it was the player laying on the ground after copping an accidental punch from Barbieri, as her teammates gathered around her.

It was fitting that the scorer turned out to be Newcastle’s most experienced player, the captain Gema Simon in the dying seconds of the match.

"A black eye seemed a small price to pay for the hero who had just saved the Jets from the record books."

The jets started off with intent and had the better of the visitors in terms of possession but despite a number of chances they were unable to take the lead early.

The familiar pattern of conceding after some good passages of play continued in this match as The Reds took the lead with their first look though Captain Kristy Moore.

The Jets gained back control of the game after conceding, having several opportunities and were unlucky not to equalize. Within the space of a few minutes Rhali Dobson’s shot hit the post, Beard’s follow up shot was pushed out for a corner by United’s custodian Melissa Barbieri.

The resulting corner saw the ball fall into the path of McCormack who unleashed a powerful shot only to see it tipped over the bar as Barbieri came to the rescue once again.

The bad luck continued for the Jets as Kristy Moore doubled her tally and Adelaide’s advantage against the run of play once again unleashing a bullet which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Moore and Barbieri were the standouts for Adelaide United, Moore was able to take her chances with clinical finishing, giving Adelaide the advantage despite having fewer opportunities than the Jets. Whilst the latter kept the Reds in the lead for the majority of the match weathering the storm by making some acrobatic saves that stopped the Jets from getting 3 points.

Hannah Beard gave the Jets a deserved goal after bulldozing her way past Adelaide’s backline, bursting into the box with ease and coolly finishing into the bottom corner past an outstretched Barbieri’s right hand with a little help from the post.

This was the turning point as the Jets went into half time with the scoring 2-1 and the belief that they had had several opportunities and periods of domination throughout the first half and would have been confident that they could get the job done in the 2nd half with the home crowd behind them.

Beard has been a good find for Newcastle combining well up front with Dobson. Newcastle have many young players who have stood up in what has been the clubs toughest season to date.

This includes the emergence of Clair Wheeler, Sophie Nenadovic who are in their first season of W-League. While Eliza Campbell has been solid in goal after her emergence last season and rewarded with a Matildas call up to be reserve against China in November.

Lead by ever reliable experienced campaigners in captain Gema Simon, vice-captain Hannah Brewer and Stacy Day signs look promising for the young side.

If two or three other experienced players in various positions were recruited for next season in combination with the talent already at the club then this could see the Jets become real competitors, perhaps even pushing close to a finals berth as did Adelaide this season.

While Adelaide United made a vast improvement from seasons past finishing a career high fifth place, in the process knocking off some of the top sides along the way.

The addition of Melissa Barbieri and Kristy Moore amongst others has contributed to their rise from easy beats to being competitive.

The future seems bright for both these sides with the only way being up.