Kaine Sheppard and Jair struck either side of the break to give the Newcastle Jets a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar at McDonald Jones Stadium.

It was Sheppard’s first A-League goal, while Jair ended his drought to score his first goal since September 2017.

The Roar had the best of the first half chances, but it was Sheppard who took his best to give the Newcastle Jets the lead.

He showed fantastic skill and a poachers instinct to get ahead of Papadopoulos and fire his effort inside the near post.

The English footballer had an impressive first half, capped off perfectly with his debut goal in his first start for the Jets.

It came after Glen Moss pulled off a sensational save to keep Eric Bautheac’s effort out.

Jets coach Ernie Merrick sprung a surprise by including Ronny Vargas in the starting line-up after all but ruling out the marquee man earlier in the week.

For the Roar, Adam Taggart started on the bench but came on with 20 minutes to play.