Canberra put a poor first half behind them and earned a gutsy road win thanks to strikes from Ash Sykes and American Toni Pressley, while goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer was just as instrumental.

It marked the second comeback for United in seven days after they downed Sydney FC last week and sees them move to third on the W-League ladder.

Coach Heather Garriock said her side showed plenty of character to regroup at the break and come back to secure another three points.

"I was really disappointed with that first half and we had to make some tactical changes," Garriock said.

"I thought we were getting killed in the midfield so I decided to overload it and put more girls in there, Ellie Carpenter went to centre midfield and was really strong.

"Haley was absolutely outstanding, she was was my very first signing and has been fantastic, she is a world class goalkeeper."

Garriock said there was plenty to improve on moving forward but added it's the sign of a good team when they play poorly and still win.

"If we can play as bad as what we played and can still win the game then we're only going to get better from here," Garriock said.

"I keep talking about character and during my recruitment process character was the first thing I looked at and these girls are showing massive amounts of it.

"They just need to show their quality on the field as well and once we can combine the two we're going to be very good."

United fell behind early after conceding their third penalty in as many weeks when Aoife Colvill tugged Arin Gilliand's shirt inside the box.

Jets' striker Emily van Egmond made no mistake from the spot as Newcastle took the lead on eight minutes.

Canberra went in search of an equaliser as Michelle Heyman made some smart runs and connected well with Sykes but without reward.

Kopmeyer was on fire in her first two appearances in lime green and picked up where she left off with several stellar saves in the first half.

Matildas star Carpenter made her presence known in the back line but the visitors went into the break trailing 1-0

A rev-up from Garriock saw United come out firing in the second stanza and after just three minutes they were on the scoresheet thanks to a clinical finish from Sykes.

United found their rhythm and Heyman thought she'd scored the go-ahead goal on 63 minutes only to be ruled offside.

But it didn't matter because two minutes later Pressley rose highest at the corner and headed home the winner to keep United unbeaten against Newcastle in 14 matches.

Canberra dug their heels in for the final 25 minutes to hold on for the win and next face Perth Glory at McKellar Park on Saturday.

AT A GLANCE:

Canberra United 2 (Sykes 46 Pressley 65) beat Newcastle 1 (Van Egmond 8)

• Canberra United endured a tough start to their National Youth League campaign as they were thrashed 8-0 on the road against the Western Sydney Wanderers. United held their own in the first half before the Wanderers banged in six goals in the second stanza. Canberra was handed a one-year NYL licence in the wake of the FFA Centre of Excellence being axed in August and are the only team in the competition not aligned to an A-League club.