The Newcastle players faced a media storm all week after the club stunned the football world by sacking coach Branko Culina and asking FFA to annul the contract of marquee recruit Jason Culina.

Despite the off-field dramas the Jets players were able to fight back from a goal down to hold a 2-1 lead at half-time courtesy of two goals from Ryan Griffiths, including a wonderful curling 20-metre free-kick.

Heart levelled the scores early in the second half but the Jets showed plenty of resolve to snatch a late winner courtesy of defender Byun Sung-Hwan, whose shot from the edge of the area deflected off Melbourne defender Michael Marrone and into the goal in virtually the last play of the game.

"I think they are a proud bunch of players and I think they desperately wanted to prove something," Deans said of the Jets players after the match.

"They probably used a lot of energy up in the change room in the hour prior to the game and I think the goal (to Heart) was a good thing.

"It gave them a kick up the backside to remind them what they were trying to achieve, and they showed good character and good spirit to fight back twice and kept going to the last kick."

Deans, who was thrust into the coaching 'hot seat' just five days before the match, expressed his delight at the team's win and more so at his player's ability to focus on the game and shut out the off-field dramas.

"I don't want to make excuses for anything; for my first game, the loss of a coach, for anything. I don't like excuses and the players don't either at the end of the day if you are good enough you win and today we were good enough," Deans said.

"Obviously because we had some drama earlier in the week it made it more important that we focus on the football and we have a tough game next week and knowing that we are going to Wellington with three points makes it a lot easier.

"Winning is the reason we play sport and it feels good. It was a hard game and both teams tried to win it which is good to see.

"You could tell in the last five of 10 minutes that people were starting to run out of legs but I think the fitness of our boys go them through in the end. But in all it is a nice feeling."

Meanwhile, Melbourne Heart coach John van't Schip said he believes his side deserved better from the game.

"If you concede a goal just before half-time and just at the end, it is (heartbreaking)," van't Schip said after the match.

"The boys worked very hard. The second half we played much better than the first half, even though in the first half we had a few good opportunities as well, but the last pass wasn't quite good enough or we had a chance on the break.

"We deserved maybe more but that is not what it is all about. We have to be more professional and more mature in some situations and that is costing us two goals."

Van't Schip said he was pleased with the movement of his players up front including some threatening combinations involving Fred, Williams, Dugandzic and Jason Hoffman, but said his team needed to show more composure in the final third and in defence.

"That is what we tried to get in more – more mobility in the midfield and we got some good occasions with Fred getting two or three balls in between the defence and (Jason) Hoffman gave a good ball through for David Williams and there was one moment he passed the goalkeeper and it could have easily been a penalty," the Heart coach said.

"We came up front one-nil. The free-kick was well taken but going behind just before half-time, that second goal was a little bit too easy – we gave it away."