THE Newcastle Jets' fairytale turned to heartache last night.
Written off as no-hopers all season, the Jets defied the critics and the odds to finish sixth and snatch the final place in the play-offs.
And after upsetting hot shots Gold Coast in the first elimination final, there was a feeling among the squad that they could go all the way.
But dreams of a second A-League title came to a halt last night at a heaving Westpac Stadium, going down 3-1 to Wellington Phoenix after 120 minutes of energy-sapping, heart-stopping football.
In the end it took a piece of brilliance from Phoenix talisman Paul Ifill in the final minute of the first half of extra time to kill off the visitors.
By that stage the Jets were running on empty. They tried to find another gear, but Phoenix replacement Eugene Dadi sealed their fate, tapping home from close range five minutes from time.
An upset had looked in the making when Matt Thompson put the Jets ahead in the 20th minute.
Urged on by a record crowd of 32,792, the home side levelled through Tim Brown in the 33rd minute.
From there it became a battle of wills.
In an end-to-end entertaining battle, both teams had numerous chances to win in regulation.
Matt Thompson (twice), and Tarek Elrich had one-on-ones with the keeper, while replacements Mirjan Pavlovic and Sasho Petrovski also had opportunities, the latter hitting the post in extra time.
It wasn't just the Jets. Ifill missed five chances alone before finally delivering.
As the attempts on goals mounted so did the injuries for the visitors.
Thompson (groin), and Song Jin-hyung (virus) were forced to the sideline, and Jobe Wheelhouse (groin) and Ben Kennedy (knee) finished the game virtually on one leg.
"It was a smashing effort by the boys," a disappointed but proud coach Branko Culina said.
"We had players who couldn't walk let alone run, but they stuck it out.
"We gave them a run for their money and had we taken our chances early on, it would have been a different ball game.
"Credit to Wellington. On general play, overall, they deserved the win, but we had the better chances.
"Clear cut, one-on-ones with the keeper a couple of times. You can't get better than that."
It was the second straight game in which both sides had gone to extra time.
Wellington had four players backing up after playing for New Zealand against Mexico in Los Angeles on Thursday, but they finished the stronger.
"When it goes to extra time it is nothing but a mental game," Wellington captain and former Jets Andrew Durante said.
"No matter what you feel you have to do the extra tackle, the extra hard yard."
Culina made one change to the line-up that shut out the Gold Coast a fortnight ago.
Ben Kantarovski returned from a hamstring injury and started alongside Jobe Wheelhouse in a screening role in front of a back four.
Matt Thompson pushed forward to play behind Sean Rooney in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert brought in Ben Sigmund for suspended centre back Jon McKain.
Herbert, and starters Tony Lochhead, Leo Bertos, Tim Brown and Sigmund only returned on Saturday morning from the US, where New Zealand lost 2-0 to Mexico in front of 90,000 at the Rose Bowl.
If they were flat it didn't show, but it was the Jets who struck first, albeit against the run of play.
Jobe Wheelhouse showed desperation and strength to knock a header into the box. Thompson reacted quickest and drilled a first-time left-foot shot from a tight angle into the roof of Liam Reddy's net.
The teams were back on level terms in the 33rd minute when Tim Brown crashed home a drive from inside the box after good work from Ifill.
Brown and Thompson could easily of had two goals each by half-time. Brown pushed a header wide and Thompson only needed a touch on a Song cross.
But the biggest miss was by Tarek Elrich two minutes before the break.
Released by Ali Abbas, Elrich burst clear and seemingly had Reddy at his mercy. But he hesitated and side-footed the ball to Reddy.
Replacement Mirjan Pavlovic had a chance to win it for the Jets in the final minute of regulation but the teenager skied his shot from 15m.
Then deep in injury time, Ifill looked certain to score.
The Barbados international left Kennedy on the ground and only had to tap the ball in, but his touch was too strong and somehow the keeper recovered to force him wide. It was edge-of-the-seat stuff.
Ifill was denied again in the second minute of extra time, beating Kennedy but not the right post.
Ten minutes later it was Petrovski was denied by the woodwork.
Something had to give, and it was Ifill who delivered .
The former Crystal Palace striker collected the ball on the right edge of the area, took a touch with his left and drilled an angled shot into the left corner.
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