A-League wrap: Draw costly for Jets

The Newcastle Jets’ hopes of a playoff berth have been all but dashed by a 1-1 draw with Sydney FC at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday.

The draw leaves Newcastle with 32 points on the A-League table, six behind the sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix with two games left.

The Jets had plenty of chances to score in a scrappy first half but could not deliver the final blow, leaving Brazilian Bruno Cazarine to put the visitors in the lead in the 76th minute.

Cazarine’s strength proved too much as he held off defender Sam Gallaway and slotted home from a narrow angle after he had taken possession from a Scott Jamieson throw-in.

Newcastle fought back to level through veteran striker Sasho Petrovski in the 84th minute, and almost snatched a late winner through skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley.

Jobe Wheelhouse sent a dangerous free-kick into the box where Topor-Stanley headed back across goal for Petrovski to slot home from three yards.

With their season on the line, the Jets launched into a frantic attacking raid in the final minutes and nearly grabbed one through Topor-Stanley, who came within inches of connecting with Marko Jesic’s sliding pass across the face of goal.

But it wasn’t to be and the sides had to settle for a share of the points, virtually ending Newcastle’s season and leaving ninth-placed Sydney to shift their focus to an upcoming Asian Champions League campaign.

Elsewhere, Gold Coast United kept in the hunt for a top-two spot with a 2-1 win at the struggling Perth Glory.

But to dislodge second-placed Central Coast Mariners, Gold Coast need to win both their remaining matches and hope the Mariners lose both of their games.

Shane Smeltz scored twice from the penalty spot, once in each half, as the visitors took a 2-0 lead by the 56th minute.

But retiring veteran Jamie Harnwell bid farewell to the Glory faithful with one final assist, feeding Adam Taggart for Perth’s lone goal in the 75th minute.