Adelaide United made it six wins on the spin to climb up to second in the standings, while there was also a victory for Macarthur FC in Sunday's A-League action.

Craig Goodwin converted a 76th-minute penalty as in-form Adelaide continued their hot streak, though they needed goalkeeper Joe Gauci to make a crucial late save to deny Patrick Wood an equaliser in stoppage time.

Sydney had 14 attempts but managed just four on target, meaning they slipped to a first defeat against their opponents in 13 league meetings.

Adelaide now sit a point behind leaders Central Coast Mariners with a game in hand and are on their longest unbeaten streak since a seven-game run between November 2005 and January 2006.

Just the one goal was enough for Macarthur, too, Denis Genreau on target in a 1-0 triumph over Wellington Phoenix in the early kick-off.

Wellington had lost only one of their previous five games going into the contest, but Genreau was in the right place to tap in a loose ball from close range.

It was the second A-League encounter between the teams, with January's meeting having ended in a 1-1 draw.

Perth Glory held on with 10 men for the majority of the game to beat Newcastle Jets 2-1 and bring an end to their winless A-League run.

Richard Garcia's side had lost three and drawn two of their previous five games but raced two goals ahead at HBF Park inside 24 minutes.

Ciaran Bramwell marked his second start for Glory with his maiden goal, the 19-year-old placing a shot away from Lewis Italiano after Osama Malik smartly dummied Bruno Fornaroli's centre.

The hosts added a second soon after as Darryl Lachman headed Neil Kilkenny's corner ​down and ​away from Italiano for his own first goal for the club.

Glory have dropped 10 points from winning positions in 2020-21, the most of any team in the division, and they gave the Jets a lifeline when Jonathan Aspropotamitis was sent off for a challenge on Ramy Najjarine 10 minutes before half-time.

Roy O'Donovan gave Glory a scare when hitting the crossbar and went one better by flicking in Nikolai Topor-Stanley's cross with a sublime volleyed finished on the hour mark.

Further chances fell the way of O'Donovan, including a sweeping shot that just missed the far post, but the Jets could not find a leveller and have now lost five A-League games in a row.

Saturday's other A-League match saw bottom side Melbourne Victory hold table-topping Central Coast Mariners to a 1-1 draw.

Victory had lost their past four matches, conceding 17 goals in the process, but they took the lead at Central Coast Stadium through Callum McManaman's 20th-minute strike.

The former Wigan Athletic midfielder brought down a quickly taken free-kick, knocked the ball past Kye Rowles and slotted past Mark Birighitti into the far-left corner.

But the Mariners have gained more points from losing positions than any other A-League team this season and were on level terms with half an hour played through Marcos Urena's close-range finish following some fine wing play from Daniel Bouman.

Oliver Bozanic and Elvis Kamsoba went closest to snatching a winner for their respective sides, but the second half ended goalless, opening the door for Melbourne City to potentially overtake the Mariners at the summit next week.

Wellington Phoenix eased to a 4-1 win over Melbourne Victory to hand the A-League's bottom club a ninth defeat in 12 matches this season.

A fourth consecutive loss for Grant Brebner's side looked on the cards from the moment Tomer Hemed scored a majestic 11th-minute opener for the hosts.

Reno Piscopo produced a dazzling piece of control to bring a high clearance under his spell, launching a blistering counter-attack where skipper Ulises Davila laid on Hemed to finish.

David Ball was the beneficiary of a 36th-minute goalmouth scramble before the picture-perfect goals returned as Davila curled home from outside the box after the hour.

Clayton Lewis got his first A-League goal as Victory again showed their vulnerability on the break, rendering Elvis Kamsoba's dinked finish to be scant consolation.

In Wednesday's later game, Perth Glory and Sydney FC played out an entertaining 1-1 draw.

Bobo swivelled to volley home a fine equaliser in the 63rd minute for Sydney after Bruno Fornaroli enjoyed a tap-in at the back post shortly before half-time.

Sydney remain sixth, four points above Wellington in eighth.

Perth are down in 10th but their 14-point haul is double that managed by lowly Victory.

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.

Western Sydney Wanderers moved up to second in the standings after overcoming Wellington Phoenix 4-3 in an A-League thriller on Monday.  

Visitors Wellington led three times at Bankwest Stadium but on each occasion were pegged back by their opponents, who saw substitute Kwame Yeboah hit an 84th-minute winner to settle an eventful contest in their favour. 

Phoenix captain Ulises Davila opened the scoring in the seventh minute, only for Daniel Wilmering's first A-League goal – coming in his 16th appearance – to draw Western Sydney level midway through the half.  

Cameron Devlin's long-range stunner had the away side 2-1 ahead at the break, meaning Wellington have now managed five goals from outside the penalty area during the campaign – a tally only Brisbane Roar can match.  

While Jordon Mutch responded seven minutes into the second half, the hosts once again fell behind when Tomer Hemed converted a penalty following Dylan McGowan's foul on Reno Piscopo.  

Parity was restored less 93 seconds later, though, as Mitchell Duke produced a moment of magic, taking a long pass from Mutch on his chest before swivelling to volley in from the edge of the area.  

Yeboah's curling finish eventually secured all three points for Western Sydney, though only after an offside check ruled out a dramatic equaliser from Hemed deep into stoppage time.

Wellington Phoenix continued their rise up the A-League table with an impressive 3-0 win over Perth Glory on Sunday, before Western Sydney Wanderers ended a difficult run by beating Western United 1-0 in Geelong.

Phoenix were bottom of the pile with just five points last month but have now put together back-to-back wins that suddenly have them looking up towards the play-off spots.

Despite the scoreline, Phoenix spent much of the game under pressure but prevailed thanks to a fine performance from goalkeeper Oli Sail - whose eight saves earned him the man-of-the-match award - and clinical finishing, with Reno Piscopo opening the scoring with a fierce drive from outside the box in the 30th minute.

David Ball made it 2-0 soon after as he turned in James McGarry's cross and Perth's hopes of a dramatic turnaround were effectively ended just prior to the hour mark, Ben Waine prodding in from close range.

Wellington's next opponents, Western Sydney, secured their own morale-boosting victory a little later as they climbed up to third.

Jordon Mutch's first A-League goal in the 57th minute was the difference, as the English midfielder pounced on a defensive mistake and capitalised emphatically.

United were adamant they should have been awarded a late penalty when Simon Cox appeared to drag Besart Berisha to the floor by his shirt.

But much to the Kosovan's dismay, the decision did not go to a review and Western Sydney held on to end a run of two defeats and a draw in their previous three games.

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.

Rudy Gestede struck a goal in each half as Melbourne Victory beat Wellington Phoenix 2-0 in a battle of the A-League's bottom two. 

Victory climbed off the foot of the table, leapfrogging their visitors courtesy of Gestede's double at AAMI Park. 

Jake Brimmer provided the ammunition for both as the hosts ended a three-game losing streak in a fixture that saw seven yellow cards. 

Grant Brebner's side took the lead deep into first-half stoppage time when former Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa forward Gestede met Brimmer's right-wing corner with a firm header. 

The same combination led to the hosts' second, Brimmer sending over a corner which Gestede nodded in after 49 minutes. 

Despite 18 attempts, Wellington could only hit the target once as their run without a win at this stadium was extended to 11 games.

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.

Kosta Barbarouses ended his A-League goal drought to give Sydney FC a 2-1 victory over his old club Wellington Phoenix at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

The 30-year-old, who started his career in Australia's top flight with the Phoenix in 2007, had gone more than a year without a goal from open play.

He struck twice on Monday for the champions, though, becoming just the sixth player to reach 70 A-League goals in the competition's history.

Barbarouses opened the scoring against the run of play with a fine finish 32 minutes in and fired home a second midway through the second half.

The visitors, who hit the crossbar twice through Ulises Davila and Louis Fenton and out-shot Sydney 20 to seven, could only manage an injury-time consolation through Davila's deflected effort.

They stayed second-bottom with four points from five matches, while Sydney climbed to third, five behind leaders Central Coast Mariners but with two games in hand.

Melbourne City missed out on the chance to pull level with the early A-League leaders as they crashed to a 3-1 home defeat against Perth Glory.

Daniel Stynes gave the Glory an early lead courtesy of a deflected effort, although Jamie Maclaren levelled in the 33rd minute when Craig Noone's shot came back off the post.

Dane Ingham headed Perth back in front before the break and another set-piece goal six minutes from time by Nicholas D'Agostino - both of which were assisted by former City midfielder Neil Kilkenny - sealed the points.

Richard Garcia's side are level with Melbourne City on six points after bouncing back from two consecutive defeats.

Wellington Phoenix claimed their first win of the campaign at the fourth attempt thanks to Jaushua Sotirio sealing a late 2-1 triumph at Central Coast Mariners.

Ulises Davila drilled home a crisp left-footed strike after 15 minutes at a soggy Central Coast Stadium, but Alou Kuol nodded in Daniel De Silva's left-wing corner to ensure it was all square at half-time.

The Mariners looked to be on course for the point that would have edged them above Brisbane Roar at the top of the standings, albeit having played a game more.

Sotirio showed he had other ideas when he caught the home defence napping on the end of Alex Rufer's chipped pass and produced a cool finish.

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.

Wellington Phoenix held on with 10 men for a 1-1 draw against Macarthur in the A-League on Saturday.

David Ball tapped in a James McGarry cross from the left for the opener for Wellington six minutes before half-time.

But a controversial red card to Alex Rufer shortly after the hour mark hurt the Phoenix.

The midfielder was sent off after a VAR check, judged to have lashed out at Denis Genreau.

Macarthur quickly made the most of their numerical advantage, Markel Susaeta beating Stefan Marinovic at his near post after a pass from Benat Etxebarria.

Matt Derbyshire hit the crossbar with a stoppage-time header for Macarthur who moved onto four points from three games, while Wellington remain winless through two.

The Phoenix are now winless in their past seven A-League games in New South Wales, their longest such run in the competition.

Calem Nieuwenhof and Luke Brattan scored superb long-range goals as defending A-League champions Sydney FC started their campaign with a 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix.

A-League debutant Nieuwenhof slammed a brilliant strike into the top left-hand corner to put last season's premiers ahead in the 29th minute at WIN Stadium on Friday.

Mirza Muratovic – a close-season signing from Brisbane Roar – got off the mark for Wellington to level the scores on the stroke of half-time.

Another Sydney thunderbolt settled the contest, however, with Nieuwenhof's midfield partner Brattan picking out the top-right corner with a venomous free-kick.

Ulises Davila thought he had snatched a point for Wellington in stoppage time, only for his effort to have diverted in off Tomer Hemed, who was flagged offside.

In Friday's other game, Brisbane bounced back from their opening defeat to Melbourne City by overcoming Melbourne Victory 3-1.

Callum McManaman curled in a delightful finish on his debut to draw Melbourne level after Scott McDonald's opener, but Macaulay Gillesphey's header put Brisbane back ahead on the hour.

With Melbourne pushing for another equaliser – McManaman going close – Dylan Wenzel-Halls broke onto a long ball and, after twisting his way clear of his marker, slotted home to seal the points.