IT will require the miracle of miracles, but Newcastle Jets coach Arthur Papas is not giving up on reaching the A-League finals after Saturday night's shattering 3-1 loss to arch-rivals Central Coast Mariners at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Newcastle (29 points) went into the penultimate-round clash three points adrift of both sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix (32) and fifth-placed Sydney FC (32), who have a game in hand.
The home team led 1-0 but two goals from ex-Jet Samuel Silvera, one in each half, broke their hearts.
The seventh-placed Jets are still mathematically in contention but would appear to be relying on divine intervention.
They don't just need to beat Sydney at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, they would also need to do so by a considerable margin, given their goal differential (minus-13), compared to Wellington (minus-seven) and Sydney (minus-three). They would also need Sydney to lose in Brisbane (27 points) on Monday night and Wellington to lose their final-round clash against Macarthur at Campbelltown, while hoping that other results involving Brisbane, Western United (29) and Perth (28) fall in their favour.
"There is a possibility, still," Papas said after the game.
"It's a very difficult one.
"It's going to depend on some results this weekend, first of all, and then Wellington next week as well ... it's a long shot, but I just don't give up. If it's mathematically possible, why should we say it's not?"
Adding to the enormous odds stacked against Newcastle, senior players Brandon O'Neill and Carl Jenkinson appear certain to be suspended for the Sydney clash after being sent off on Saturday night.
O'Neill left Newcastle a man short in the 60th minute when he incurred a second yellow card, while former Arsenal defender Jenkinson received a straight red card in injury time for blatantly pulling the shirt of Socceroos striker Jason Cummings as he homed in on goal.
Papas said "a key part of the story from tonight's game" was the performance of referee Shaun Evans.
"Ultimately I probably think, just reflecting on it, the cards came out early for a couple of players," Papas said. "That changes the context of the game.
"Ten men changes the context of the game. Nine men changes it even more ... I just would have hoped for a referee that the story doesn't become about the referee."
Mariners coach Nick Montgomery praised his team for a "fantastic win" that lifted them to second on the ladder.
"If anything, I'm disappointed there wasn't more goals scored at the end," he said. "I thought they [the Jets] put up a fight for 20 minutes, and then after that it was one-way traffic."
The Jets enjoyed a dream start when Jaushua Sotirio scored in the eighth minute.
Silvera equalised in the 28th minute and added a second 30 minutes later. Brazilian Marco Tulio made it 3-1 in the 69th minute.
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