Melbourne Heart's seven-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday as the Newcastle Jets secured back-to-back wins for the first time since November.
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Top scorer Adam Taggart netted the only goal of the game at Hunter Stadium to give his side three points that move them up to sixth in the A-League ladder.
The result could have been very different had Melbourne taken either of two excellent early chances.
With the game just 30 seconds old, David Williams's cross found Iain Ramsay in the six-yard box, but the former Gretna midfielder headed wide.
Jonatan Germano then struck the post for the visitors 10 minutes later, after goalkeeper Mark Birighitti failed to gather a clipped cross.
Newcastle's best opportunity of a scrappy first half fell to Emile Heskey, but the 62-time England international, who has yet to score this season, sent a looping header narrowly wide.
The first chance after half time fell to Melbourne when Birighitti parried a drilled cross into the path of Williams, who scooped a poor effort over the bar from right in front of the posts.
That miss was swiftly punished at the other end when Newcastle broke the deadlock on 53 minutes. Taggart latched on to Joshua Brillante's precise pull-back to send a first-time shot beyond Andrew Redmayne from close range.
Newcastle almost doubled their lead midway through the second half, but Redmayne pulled off an impressive save to keep out Kew Jaliens's angled header.
Redmayne was forced into the action again late on, rushing out to pinch the ball off the toes of Taggart, who had raced through on goal.
The Gosford-born stopper's contribution kept his side in the game and they almost snatched an equaliser in the last minute, but Ramsay's left-footed volley failed to find the target.
Robert Summerscales
