Adelaide United racked up a fifth successive A-League victory and jumped to third place as Carl Veart's team cruised to a 4-1 away win over Newcastle Jets.

Goals from Kusini Yengi, Stefan Mauk, Ben Halloran and Craig Goodwin put Adelaide 4-0 up at the break, with lowly Newcastle's reply coming from Apostolos Stamatelopoulos midway through the second half.

The pre-match omens were poor for Newcastle, with Adelaide having won five times and lost only once in their last eight A-League clashes with the Jets, including a 2-1 victory earlier in March.

Yengi dispossessed home captain Nigel Boogaard much too easily and was able to slot a simple fifth-minute opener, before Mauk scored his sixth goal of the season by turning in a cross on 11 minutes as the Newcastle defence stood and watched.

Head coach Veart watched admiringly as Halloran tucked in the third from a tight angle in the 40th minute, with a penalty from Goodwin stretching the lead three minutes later after Yengi was ruled to have been tripped.

Newcastle had won just one of their last five A-League games at McDonald Jones Stadium and this contest had effectively slipped beyond the Jets' reach after a dreadful first-half performance.

Former Adelaide forward Stamatelopoulos headed a consolation in the 69th minute, but Newcastle stay second-bottom of the 12-team league.

Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar split the points in a 1-1 draw earlier at the same stadium, as Newcastle staged a double-header.

Tomer Hemed fired Wellington ahead in the 42nd minute with a precise shot into the left corner from 15 yards after James McGarry's cross from the left was blocked.

Brisbane pushed hard for a leveller in the second half and substitute Golgol Mebrahtu found it in the 86th minute, diving in at the far post to nod in Macaulay Gillesphey's expert delivery from a deep position on the left flank.

Gillesphey was sent off in stoppage time for pulling down Jaushua Sotirio as he charged through in search of a winner for Wellington.

Adelaide United and Sydney FC each boosted their play-off hopes with respective victories over two of the A-League's strugglers on Saturday. 

Though they fell behind to Jake Brimmer's stunning long-range free-kick, which cannoned in off the crossbar, Adelaide fought back to go second with a 3-1 win against Melbourne Victory. 

Captain Stefan Mauk lashed home the equaliser before Kusini Yengi tapped in Craig Goodwin's cross at the end of a well-worked move. 

Mauk stole into the box to make sure of the points 13 minutes from time, converting from Yengi's ball in. 

As for Sydney, they were 2-1 winners over Newcastle Jets. 

Sydney also fell behind in the first half as Luka Prso scored his first A-League goal after a dreadful error from goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne. 

But Milos Ninkovic levelled matters and Alex Wilkinson headed home his first A-League goal in over a decade 11 minutes from time. 

Saturday's results leave Sydney fourth, a point behind Adelaide.

Adelaide United made it three A-League wins in a row on Friday, edging out Newcastle Jets 2-1 at Coopers Stadium.

Craig Goodwin's goal in the 77th minute was enough to settle a tight contest and lift the Reds into third in the table.

Louis D'Arrigo struck after just six minutes to put Adelaide in front before Connor O'Toole smashed in an equaliser from the edge of the box.

It was a stylish way for the Jets to reach 500 goals in the A-League, but O'Toole's strike proved to be their only effort on target of the game.

Goodwin, who earlier smashed a free-kick off the post, capitalised on a hesitant moment at the back from Steven Ugarkovic before firing past goalkeeper Jack Duncan.

Adelaide are five points behind leaders Central Coast Mariners, with Newcastle 10th, four points off the bottom.

Matt Derbyshire scored the only goal as Macarthur got back to winning ways in the A-League by beating 10-man Sydney FC 1-0.

Derbyshire netted what proved to be the winner in the 36th minute, but his simple tap-in owed much to the great work of Markel Susaeta down the left byline.

Two minutes later Sydney were reduced to 10 when Paulo Retre was shown a red card for a high challenge.

Macarthur could not add to their advantage but still made it three wins out of four following a 4-1 loss to Western United last time out.

They sit second in their inaugural season in the A-League, trailing Central Coast Mariners - who have a game in hand - by a point.

In the day's other game, goals from David Ball and Ben Waine gave Wellington Phoenix only their second win of the campaign, a 2-0 defeat of Newcastle Jets.

Wellington Phoenix moved off the bottom of the A-League table after playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday.

A three-goal blitz in eight second-half minutes saw the visitors come from behind to lead only to end up sharing the spoils at WIN Stadium.

Mirza Muratovic scored at the second attempt nine minutes in and Phoenix held the advantage until 19 minutes from time, when Kwame Yeboah headed in a Keanu Baccus cross.

Bruce Kamau turned in Daniel Wilmering's delivery just five minutes later only for Louis Fenton to head in a quick-fire equaliser.

The Wanderers stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games, their longest since a 10-match streak that ended in January 2016, but they missed out on the chance to go above Macarthur FC into third.

Phoenix are off the bottom, a point ahead of Melbourne Victory, who were beaten 1-0 at home by Newcastle Jets in Sunday's earlier game.

Grant Brebner's men were punished for a lack of precision in attack, with just one of their 13 shots hitting the target against a side who had lost four consecutive A-League games at AAMI Park by an aggregate score of 10-2.

Angus Thurgate struck the winner after 72 minutes as Newcastle made it four wins from their previous eight away matches to move into the top six.

Central Coast Mariners extended their lead at the top of the A-League thanks to a 2-0 win at 10-man Wellington Phoenix.

The hosts operated with reduced numbers for more than an hour of the contest after David Ball was given a deserved straight red card for a reckless lunge on Matt Simon.

Simon recovered well enough to give Central Coast the lead five minutes before half-time, clipping home Marco Urena's excellent throughball.

The goalscorer heaped praise on the experienced Costa Rica playmaker afterwards.

"You can see Marco's quality out on the pitch and that pass was just another showing from him of how good he is," Simon said.

"And he's only going to get better.  I think he's still got a little bit to go to get 100 per cent fit but I think he's shown his qualities so far."

Oliver Bozanic made it 2-0 from the penalty spot after another misguided Phoenix challenge - this time from Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi on Daniel De Silva - and there was little doubt from that point that the Mariners would open up a four-point gap over second-placed Macarthur.

Brisbane Roar had the chance to leapfrog the Sydney club but were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle Jets.

The Jets are seventh with two wins from eight games so far, with Valentino Yuel close to a being a topical matchwinner on Sunday when his 25-yard drive boomed back off the post.

Wellington are only kept off the bottom by Melbourne Victory on goal difference, although they have only played six times.

Alou Kuol's late brace secured a dramatic turnaround that lifted Central Coast Mariners back to the A-League summit with a 3-2 win over Western United in Gosford.

United took a 2-1 lead in the break thanks to goals from Tomislav Uskok and Besart Berisha, either side of Matt Simon's 16th-minute equaliser in an entertaining first half.

For a while that deficit remained intact and United appeared to be closing in on only a second win of the season.

But Kuol was introduced from the bench with an hour played and he made a fine impact, first equalising in the 77th minute as he turned in Daniel De Silva's corner, before then getting the winner soon after with a diving header.

There was no such delight for Melbourne City, however, rather despair as last season's grand finalists suffered a third successive A-League loss, this time to Newcastle Jets.

The only goal of the game arrived just before half-time, when Valentino Yuel converted from close range for his fourth goal in five games.

Roy O'Donovan scored his first goal as an Australian citizen to earn Newcastle Jets a 1-1 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers.

The former Republic of Ireland B striker fired in an 81st-minute penalty to give the lowly Jets the reward their second-half endeavour deserved.

Former Newcastle frontman Bernie Ibini, who left the Jets in December, had pounced in the 36th minute at Bankwest Stadium to give Wanderers the lead in the A-League clash.

Ibini drove home after Simon Cox went on a weaving run that ended with a 20-yard low shot against the left post, the ball bouncing out kindly for the experienced striker to convert.

Wanderers would have gone top of the table had they held on for three points, but after having much the better of the opening 45 minutes their level dipped in the second half.

Jets substitute Luka Prso was clipped in the penalty area by Patrick Ziegler, who was also freshly off the bench, and O'Donovan snatched the chance to secure a point, firing high into the left corner.

O'Donovan, 35, announced this week that his citizenship had come through, having spent the last five and a half years playing in Australia.

The point nudges Wanderers up to second place after five games, albeit having played one more match than the teams around them.

For the Jets it was a first draw of the campaign after one previous win and four defeats.

Newcastle Jets claimed their first victory of the A-League season at the fifth time of asking with a 2-1 triumph at Wellington Phoenix.

Wellington are still without a win this term and now sit a place below Newcastle in 11th, although they have two games in hand.

The Jets came into the match on a run of four defeats from four but at least boasted a man in form in Valentino Yuel, and the forward was played through by strike partner Roy O'Donovan in the eighth minute to clip home a fine finish off the left post for a third goal in three outings.

O'Donovan got in on the act six minutes into the second period, keeping his composure to net a 50th A-League goal after Wellington goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic charged out of his area.

Marinovic's opposite number Jack Duncan excelled throughout the contest, making seven saves, although he was beaten from the penalty spot in the 85th minute - Phoenix captain Ulises Davila sending him the wrong way after substitute Blake Archbold made a rash sliding challenge on Cameron Devlin.

Perth Glory enjoyed an exhilarating start to their 2020-21 A-League season as they beat Adelaide United 5-3 in a thrilling encounter on Wednesday.

Glory's preparations for the season have not been ideal after they were forced to quarantine once their part in the AFC Champions League was over at the end of 2020, but for the most part they looked impressive against Adelaide.

Playing for the first time this year, Glory opened the scoring after 10 minutes as Neil Kilkenny converted a penalty after Bruno Fornaroli was bundled over, and Nick D'Agostino's deflected effort just past the half-hour mark made in 2-0.

Nathan Konstandopoulos punished a defensive calamity to pull one back before half-time, but Fornaroli restored the two-goal advantage in the 51st minute and D'Agostino's header on the hour made it 4-1.

Carlo Armiento's fine finish six minutes from time effectively ended Adelaide's hopes, though the visitors did finish with a flurry as Mohamed Toure and Ben Halloran ensured the scoreline was a little less embarrassing.

In the day's earlier kick-off, the Newcastle Jets saw their miserable start to the season resume with a 2-1 home defeat by Brisbane Roar – Dylan Wenzel-Halls' strike after a clever move proving the decider just past the hour.

That made it four defeats from as many games for the Jets, who are rooted to the foot of the table.

A-League new boys Macarthur went top of the table with a 2-1 win at Newcastle Jets on Sunday.

Loic Puyo was the star for the visitors, opening the scoring in the eighth minute before teeing up Matt Derbyshire for Macarthur's second 15 minutes later.

Sandwiched between those goals was a VAR decision that denied Jason Hoffman an equaliser for the Jets, ruling him to have strayed offside.

They did pull one back through Valentino Yuel in the 42nd minute but could not complete the comeback as the Jets' winless start to the season continued.

Macarthur are a point ahead of Central Coast Mariners at the top but have played two games more.

Tate Russell's second-half thunderbolt ultimately proved crucial for Western Sydney Wanderers in their gutsy 2-1 A-League triumph at Newcastle Jets on Friday.

Wanderers, who earned a first win under boss Carl Robinson against his old club, led 2-0 thanks to Ziggy Gordon and Russell only for Nigel Boogaard to ensure a nervy finish at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Centre-back Gordon headed home James Troisi's seventh-minute corner to get Wanderers rolling.

The impressive Nicolai Muller, who finished with three shots, three key passes and 80.6 per cent pass accuracy, thought he had doubled the lead with a tremendous effort from range, only for Simon Cox (two shots, two key passes) to be ruled offside in the build-up by VAR.

Newcastle had their chances, but Thomas Aquilina somehow failed to make contact with Muller's teasing cross before the break.

Russell was far more clinical when he drilled in Cox's lay-off from the edge of the box just before the hour in an effort of sublime technique.

Boogaard headed the Jets back into the contest when he finished from Ramy Najjarine's assist, the winger proving a great creative force throughout (five chances created, three shots, 79.1 per cent successful passes).

The Jets peppered the visitors' goal from there on in but were unable to find a leveller and have started the campaign with two defeats.