Newcastle Jets hand Brisbane Roar tough A-League defeat

A late Joseph Champness goal sealed a hard-fought 1-0 A-League victory for the Newcastle Jets over a gallant Brisbane Roar.

On the 10th anniversary of their first and only A-League championship, the Jets took an important step towards another at a rainy Suncorp Stadium.

There were numerous chances for both sides and plenty of encouraging openings in what was an entertaining, end-to-end clash.

Until substitute Champness struck in the 79th minute for his fourth goal of the season, it seemed nobody was good enough to take advantage.

Having entered the fray seven minutes earlier, the Olyroos winger and former Brisbane youth player surged down the left flank and fired past Jamie Young to complete a clinical Newcastle counter-attack.

It was a demoralising blow for the Roar, who had played brightly and were riding a wave of emotion after the introduction of cult hero Henrique.

The Brazilian-Australian, the scorer of so many important goals in Brisbane's short history, earned a huge ovation from the 8,120 crowd when he came on for the lively Brett Holman in the 72nd minute.

Only a few moments later, he fluffed a golden opportunity for the home side to take the lead. The Roar had a two-on-one attacking break and all Henrique had to do was lay on a cross for Massimo Maccarone, but his pass lacked pace and it was snuffed out by a Jets defender.

It was one of many nearly moments for the John Aloisi-coached side, whose top-six hopes took a big hit with the defeat - their eighth of the season at home.

They were left with a sour taste in the mouth, too, after the video assistant referee opted not to intervene when Nikolai Topor-Stanley pushed over Avraam Papadopoulos, who was standing just inside the penalty box during stoppage time.

However, the Jets were marginally the better side.

Brisbane finished with three shots on target -- two if which were in one-on-one situations -- to Newcastle's No. 10, with Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young outstanding in keeping the majority of those shots out.

His counterpart, Jack Duncan, frustrated the Roar with a string of good saves coming either side of half-time.