report by Paul Green

Adelaide United turned things around on Sunday afternoon at Wanderers Oval, Broadmeadow, a week after a humiliating 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Central Coast Mariners at Hindmarsh Stadium, but their improved showing was not enough to wrestle away any points from an ever-stronger Newcastle Jets side.

Reds' coach, Mike Barnett, made a number of changes to his starting eleven, including leaving our veteran Sharon Black and bringing in goalkeeper Sian McLaren.

"She would have played last week, ironically, but she was injured and she did very well today," he said after the game.

"She caught everything and it was a very pleasing performance.

We'll never know if McLaren would have let in the six goals the unfortunate Emma Wirkus conceded in Adelaide, but on this showing by the promising young keeper it would have seemed unlikely.

Barnett left out not only Black, but Sarah Amorim, Donna Cockayne and Lauren Chilvers, bringing in Leanne Slater, Rachael Quigley and Tanya Harrison, the latter pair having come off the bench against Central Coast after the break. Cockayne was given the last half hour in this match.

In swirling winds that could have defeated better sides Adelaide showed a lot of composure and some good passing skills to run the Jets as close as anyone else has at the home of Broadmeadow Magic, Wanderers Oval the home of Macedonian football in the Hunter.

"We didn't really notice the wind too much," said Reds' skipper Di Alagich. "It made things difficult but we didn't let it distract us."

Adelaide had taken a 17th minute lead through a twice-taken Victoria Balomenos penalty, following a push on Alagich by Rebecca Smith.

After an original encroachment, when the first attempt was parried and then bundled home at the second attempt by Balomenos, referee Corey Lee indicated an infringement.

Jets' stand-in captain, Joanne Peters, paid tribute to her opponents

"Full credit to Adelaide in coming here determined to get something out of the game."

"They showed they had lots of flexibility.

Jets' coach, Gary Phillips, was also relieved to see his side emerge with the points.

"I wasn't sure about that encroachment for their penalty," he said

"Once again we had to come from behind to win it, though, which we are making a habit of doing at Wanderers Oval."

"We have had to do without Cheryl (Salisbury, the team captain) for a couple of games as she has had a bit of a calf problem which is only just coming right again.

"She should be 100 per cent for the Finals, though.

"It's good to see we are playing good football, week-in, week-out.

Phillips said he and Salisbury were taking the team together now.

Asked why her name was showing on the team sheet as well as his, under the coach's name, he joked about it.

"We both run the team at the moment," he said.

Winning a few early corners, which were well dealt with by the Adelaide defence and an increasingly dominant McLaren, Newcastle found themselves a goal down after some excellent lead up work from an Adelaide side well-drilled in their passing, especially on the approaches to goal.

A Katie Gill header for the Jets, in the fifth, was saved convincingly by McLaren and a free kick from Stacey Day in the sixth and a speculator from Peters in the seventh both went wide before the Reds struck.

After the penalty had been put away nicely for Adelaide, Gill put another free kick narrowly over the bar in the 19th.

Adelaide might well have punished that home side profligacy when, in the 29th, Sandra Scalzi got down the right and from a very tight angle forced Alison Logue into saving superbly at her near post.

"Alison has been great for us this season," enthused Phillips. "She has really come on tremendously."

A wonderful strike from Rebecca Smith brought the side level again in the 36th.

Newcastle had eclipsed Adelaide with some magic approach work and a bamboozled Reds' rearguard could not clear their lines.

Smith, from well outside the area, hit a sweet right-footer that for once McLaren was unequal to.

The ball flew into the top left corner of the net to the relief of the Jets' bench as the wind had favoured the visitors in the first period and they had appeared the more likely to strike the second blow.

As expected Newcastle had the Adelaide defence under pressure after the break, but gradually the visitors clawed their way back and made a great game of it.

McLaren claimed a left-footed Peters' volley in the 51st competently and seven minutes later Scalzi clipped a good chance over the bar at the other end.

But the Jets were playing well and muscling their way to midfield supremacy by this stage.

Emily van Egmond struck the right hand upright in the 68th and it looked as if the home team would soon claim the prize.

This they did in the 79th, after an Adelaide corner had looked promising, but broke down and the visitors could not get back quickly enough.

Salisbury, by then on as a substitute, combined well with Gill and linked with van Egmond, who laid the ball back for Peters.

The skipper-for-the-day unleashed one of her typically powerful left-footers from just inside the area that found the top left corner of McLaren's net and kept the Newcastle women right on course for a Finals' berth.

"We still have some work to do," said Phillips. "But we are getting into form at the right end of the season so I hope we can keep improving."