Archie Thompson had put the home side ahead just before half-time with a powerful header after the Jets started the game poorly.

But Newcastle pushed on in the second half and were rewarded with a goal three minutes from time when super sub and returned star Labinot nodded home the equaliser.

Victory had been rocked before the ball had even been kicked by the late withdrawal of Danny Allsopp. His club said he was injured but it was reported he was wanting to leave the club to sign a big money deal for a Qatari club.

Melbourne, left to lament their inability to secure a second goal, have now managed a win and two draws from their first five games as their title defence continued to splutter, while the Jets, who had beaten Gold Coast 1-0 just four days prior, snatched a vital point to move to eight from five games.

It was a disastrous start to the game for Melbourne, with Billy Celeski crashing to the turf after falling awkwardly in just the second minute. The injury to his knee looked serious and it cast a pall over the match for much of the first half.

There could have been further trouble for the home side, with Rody Vargas cleaned up by his own keeper Glen Moss, forcing the skipper to seek medical treatment for a cut to the head. Vargas returned to spurn Melbourne's best chance of the first 30 minutes after he headed a Tom Pondeljak cross wide, while Ney Fabiano and Nick Ward also mis-fired.

The Jets were producing little in attack and it was not surprising when a more enterprising Melbourne side went ahead on 42 minutes.

Leigh Broxham took a free kick from the right, and Thompson managed to wriggle free from the attentions of his namesake, Matt, to rise at the near post. It was a perfectly placed header which Ben Kennedy had no hope of stopping.

Melbourne pressed hard in the first 15 minutes after the break, with Ljubo Milicevic forced into action to block a dangerous Ney Fabiano cross before Thompson fired wide and high with a good chance

Chris Triantis did a similar thing up the other end, while just after the hour Jason Hoffmann was on the end of the best Jets build-up for the night but fired straight at Moss. Donny De Groot and Haliti came on to help spark the Jets, with the Dutchman immediately in action, getting his header on target but not past Moss.

Melbourne's best chance for a second goal ended when Ney Fabiano, under pressure from Nikolai Topor-Stanley, fell over the box, but Chris Beath waved play on.

It was Elrich's endeavour in the 86th minute which then secured the Jets a share of the spoils as he powered down the right and looped the ball to Haliti, who beat Adrian Leijer in the air, then Moss with the header.

Melbourne's hopes of snatching the three points back slipped agonisingly away as Vargas' late shot beat Kennedy but went just wide.

Melbourne Victory 1 (Thompson 42)
Newcastle Jets 1 (Haliti 86)
Crowd: 15,168 at Etihad Stadium