Sydney FC frustrated in draw with Newcastle Jets

Sydney FC moved up three spots to second in the A-League table, but were denied a precious win by a Newcastle side who set a club record for most games without a victory.

The 1-1 draw at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday came courtesy of a contentious penalty and an own goal.

Referee Alex King awarded a spot kick after a VAR check following a corner when Lachlan Jackson's header hit the arm of Sydney striker Bobo.

"VAR got it wrong, it was very clear," Sydney coach Steve Corica said.

"I'm not sure what Bobo was supposed to do. He got sandwiched between two players and if anything it should have been a foul for us, because he (Jackson) was all over Bobo. "Its disappointing of course because that's a crucial two points that we've dropped."

Roy O'Donovan's powerful 59th minute penalty conversion gave Newcastle the lead, but the Jets couldn't hold on and went a 12th straight game without victory.

Sydney salvaged a deserved point in somewhat fortuitous circumstances as an attempted 76th minute clearance from Jets defender Connor O'Toole cannoned off teammate and captain Nigel Boogaard into the net.

The Sky Blues had come close to equalising a few minutes earlier when substitute Trent Buhagiar's firm header crashed off the crossbar.

The visitors looked the more threatening side up until the last few minutes, playing plenty of balls into the Jets penalty area, but couldn't get a winner.

It was Newcastle who came closest, with substitute Valentino Yuel scooping a shot over from close range in the 89th minute, while Jets debutante Jordan O'Doherty put a stoppage-time shot wide.

The Jets last won on Feb. 21 against Melbourne Victory and their new winless streak eclipsed the previous one in 2006.

Not for the first time this season, Sydney created a number of chances in the first half hour, but couldn't score.

Kosta Barbarouses had two volleys saved by Jets goalkeeper Lewis Italiano, who also foiled two attempts from Milos Ninkovic, while Bobo's header from a free kick flicked the top of the net.

Newcastle then enjoyed a good spell before half time with Sydney custodian Andrew Redmayne making three saves.

He tipped Luka Prso'a 20-yard drive over the bar, caught a header from the resulting corner and stopped a Jason Hoffman shot.

Corica said his team did not deserve to win. "I don't think we created enough clear cut chances tonight," Corica said. "The ball speed was too slow, we were sloppy with the ball, we didn't get enough in behind them to cause problems."