A-League Men strugglers Newcastle will finish their year on a high thanks to a masterclass by Trent Buhagiar in their 2-0 triumph over Western United.
With their sights set on making play-offs, the eighth-placed Jets could not settle for anything less than three points at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
Buhagiar made sure of that, drawing first blood at the eighth minute, before netting his second less than 15 minutes later.
Completely uncontested by the two United defenders surrounding him, the 25-year-old pulled off an excellent header after receiving a cross from Dane Ingham.
However, it was his second goal that set the pitch alight.
After picking up the ball just outside the box in his own half following an opposition corner, Buhagiar flaunted his speed in a full-field slice down the right wing untagged.
Teammate Thomas Aquilin kept pace to accompany Buhagiar, but the Gosford local decided to go it alone.
Western United defender Ben Garuccio tried to herd the Newcastle forward, but, after a second of hesitation, Buhagiar lobbed it past goalkeeper Tom Heward-Belle to secure his second.
The win marks the Jets' first victory at home of the season and condemns the visitors to their fifth straight defeat on the road.
It is also the eighth time bottom-placed Western United have conceded the opening goal in their past 10 matches.
The hosts were down to 10 men in the 58th minute after prolific Newcastle goalscorer Apostolos Stamatelopoulos received a second yellow card for a bad foul on teenage defender Kane Vidmar.
Stamatelopoulos showed immediate regret and raised his hand in apology, but his fate was sealed.
The 24-year-old had been close to adding another on the scoreboard just minutes earlier when Heward-Belle ran way off his mark to leave the goal empty.
It was Stamatelopoulos's reluctance that allowed Heward-Belle time to save the attempt.
Despite the one-man advantage, Western United could not score in the remaining time, dogged by loose structure and poor precision.
Western United coach John Aloisi will be sweating on the fitness of Riku Danzaki after the Japanese midfielder walked off the field in the first half wearing an arm sling for what seemed to be a shoulder injury.