An own goal from substitute George Timotheou gave Perth Glory a 2-1 comeback win over Adelaide United in the A-League.

United captain Stefan Mauk put the hosts ahead in the 20th minute, timing his run into the box perfectly to convert Ben Halloran's cutback.

The advantage remained until the 73rd minute, when Bruno Fornaroli converted from Neil Kilkenny's pass to crown a patient team move.

Ten minutes later, Perth grabbed the goal that moves them up to third in the standings - leapfrogging teams including Adelaide, who drop to sixth.

United failed to deal with a short corner and the ball broke to Daniel Stynes, whose drive took a decisive deflection off the unfortunate Timotheou.

Daniel De Silva scored the winner as Central Coast Mariners came from two goals down to beat 10-man Melbourne City 3-2 and go top of the A-League on Wednesday.

City took the lead when Adrian Luna steered Craig Noone's delivery home with an exquisite first touch and in the 31st minute Jamie Maclaren dinked a brilliant finish over Mark Birighitti to put the visitors in control at Central Coast Stadium.

The Mariners pulled one back before half-time, though, Jaden Casella tapping in his first A-League goal after being teed up by captain Matt Simon.

Simon was making his 200th A-League appearance for the Mariners and, after drawing a foul from Nathaniel Atkinson in the box, he drilled the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner to restore parity.

The hosts' chances of staging an unlikely turnaround were boosted by Kerrin Stokes receiving a second yellow card in the 60th minute, and De Silva got the job done with a thumping finish 10 minutes from time.

The Mariners moved three points clear of Brisbane Roar at the summit, though they have played two games more. City, runners-up in last season's Grand Final, sit eighth after a third defeat of the season.

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.

Dylan Wenzel-Halls scored a double to fire Brisbane Roar to the top of the A-League with a 3-1 home win over Adelaide United.

The striker, who now has four goals in as many matches, scored either side of Jay O'Shea finding the top corner with a spectacular strike.

Adelaide managed a late consolation from Nathan Konstandopoulos with what was their only shot on target.

Brisbane moved ahead of Central Coast Mariners on goal difference and have now won three of their first four matches this season.

Elsewhere, 18-year-old substitute Patrick Wood scored a double and inspired champions Sydney FC to a 3-0 away win over 10-man Macarthur.

Mark Milligan was sent off after 21 minutes for a bad foul on Trent Buhagiar.

Hosts Macarthur battled to keep it level until Wood struck midway through the second half, the players having had an extended half-time break due to poor weather.

The young striker scored with 66 minutes on the clock and Milos Ninkovic added another after a fine solo run before Wood put the icing on the cake with his second late on.

In Saturday's other game, Melbourne Victory claimed their first ever point against Western United in a 0-0 draw.

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.

Jake Brimmer opened his A-League account with a late double against his former club as Melbourne Victory came from behind to beat Perth Glory 2-1 on Australia Day.

Ex-Perth midfielder Brimmer scored twice in the space of four minutes to give the Victory their first win of the campaign – his second coming from the penalty spot in the final minute of regulation time.

Robbie Kruse made his first start for the Victory in almost a year and he was denied a goal to mark the occasion by a brilliant save from Tando Velaphi, who started in place of Liam Reddy for Perth after they conceded eight goals in their first two games.

Velaphi kept out Brimmer either side of half-time and the Glory took advantage by moving in front when Bruno Fornaroli nodded Carlo Armiento's left-wing cross in at the back post just after the hour mark.

The Perth goalkeeper made six saves but was finally beaten when Brimmer rose highest to head Adama Traore's cross into the bottom-right corner.

After Josh Rawlins handled a corner inside the box, Brimmer swept the spot-kick past Velaphi as the Victory avoided defeat at AAMI Park after a club-record three-game losing streak at the venue in the A-League.

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.

Western United emerged triumphant in a nine-goal epic as an A-League record was broken in their 5-4 home victory over Perth Glory.

Eight second-half goals were scored in the contest in Geelong, a competition record.

Managers Mark Rudan and Richard Garcia were left laughing on the touchline in the closing stages, aware they were part of history.

Few would have expected such a result as Western took a 1-0 lead into half-time courtesy of an impressive early Victor Sanchez goal.

Carlo Armiento equalised after 56 minutes and that was the first of eight goals in a remarkable 28-minute period.

Bruno Fornaroli, Nicholas D'Agostino and another Armiento strike meant Glory reached a four-goal total that would usually result in victory.

But Dylan Pierias scored twice and Tomoki Imai also struck for Western in the second half.

That meant the match was level at 4-4 and there was one final twist six minutes from time, with Steven Lustica's deflected strike settling the match.

Western boss Rudan told FOX Sports: "At 4-4, I turned to Richie Garcia and said, 'Mate, we're part of something that's going to be re-run for the next 20-years'. 

"We just had a laugh and a chuckle.

"I kept looking over my shoulder at [Melbourne City striker] Jamie Maclaren [in the commentary box] and he was having a laugh.

"The most important thing is that we got through an incredible game."

In Saturday's other game, Mohamed Toure scored the winner on his first A-League start as Adelaide United won 1-0 against rivals Melbourne Victory.

Alou Kuol scored his second goal of the season as Central Coast Mariners moved top of the A-League table with a 2-0 win over defending champions Sydney FC on Friday.

Sydney suffered their first loss of the campaign at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Ben Warland scoring an own goal before Kuol came off the bench to seal all three points for the Mariners.

Warland turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Matt Simon eight minutes into the second half after an incisive run from Daniel Bouman, who was making his first A-League start.

Teenage forward Kuol gave Alen Stajcic's side breathing space 16 minutes from time with a deflected strike on the break.

The Mariners lost their 100 per cent record with a loss against Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday but responded superbly to go two points clear at the summit.

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.

Nicolai Muller scored a late winner as Western Sydney Wanderers beat Central Coast Mariners 1-0 to move top of the A-League.

The Mariners had won each of their first two matches of the season and would have returned to the top with a point.

Instead it is the Wanderers who sit at the summit on seven points from their first four games after their away victory on Tuesday.

Substitute Muller settled a fiery contest in Gosford with seven minutes remaining.

After Joshua Nisbet had hit the crossbar for the hosts, Muller finished calmly from eight yards when fellow substitute Kwame Yeboah's powerful shot deflected into his path.

The Mariners visit champions Sydney FC on Friday, while the new leaders do not play again until their clash with Newcastle Jets on January 29.

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.

A late goal from Jamie Maclaren gave Melbourne City a dramatic 2-1 derby win over Western United in the A-League on Saturday. 

City bounced back from their loss to Adelaide United last time out to move level on points with early leaders Central Coast Mariners. 

Australia striker Maclaren struck in the 84th minute, converting a simple finish after excellent work from Adrian Luna and substitute Stefan Colakovski to set him up. 

The goal completed a comeback that had started when Craig Noone curled in after collecting a pass from Curtis Good, Ivan Vujica's header having earlier put Western United ahead. 

Melbourne have now won five straight matches against their rivals.

Elsewhere, Sydney FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Western Sydney Wanderers, who are now unbeaten in five derby matches. 

Kosta Barbarouses put the defending champions ahead with a penalty after 63 minutes, but James Troisi levelled five minutes later following a mistake by home goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.

When Javi Lopez sat down to speak to Stats Perform News, Adelaide United's star recruit could not hide his smile as the interview shifted to a familiar face – Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino was the man who gave Lopez his senior debut with Espanyol in 2009.

Lopez never looked back as he went on to captain Espanyol and, until 2020, spent his entire senior career with the Periquitos before their shock relegation from LaLiga last season.

As Lopez settles in Australia and Pochettino takes charge of Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, the impact of the former Espanyol head coach is not lost on the versatile 34-year-old.

"What can I tell you about my experience with Mauricio Pochettino? He was the coach that made me debut in the first division, thanks to him afterwards I could have a great career in Espanyol for 11 years. I am thankful and I only have good words for him," Lopez told Stats Perform News.

"His evolution hasn't surprised me because I could see that he was going to be a top coach because his way of coaching, because he surrounded himself with great staff. He has no limits, he will coach the best teams in the world for sure."

Like former Espanyol team-mate and skipper Victor Sanchez – who is now playing for A-League outfit Western United – Lopez finds himself playing out of Europe for the first time and in Australia.

Adelaide have a rich history with Spaniards – Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor led a Reds team boasting countrymen Isaias, Pablo Sanchez and Sergio Cirio to the club's first A-League championship almost five years ago.

Lopez is the latest Spaniard to call Adelaide home, thanks to some help from ex-Reds captain Isaias.

"After many years of my career, I wanted to change, a big one. When the opportunity of coming here aroused I talked to Isaias, with Juande, who was playing for Perth Glory and is a great friend of mine," Lopez said. "I talked to my family and we decided to come here."

"I think that the A-League is a very strong league physically, quite unknown in Spain but people would be surprised of its great level, the matches are very entertaining, dynamic, physical," he continued. "From what I could see here, the club and the coach [Carl Veart] are doing a great job, the team is very good."

While Adelaide have won back-to-back FFA Cup titles, the club have fallen short in the A-League since reigning supreme in 2016.

Adelaide missed out on the finals last season, and that is something Lopez wants to change in 2020-21 – the veteran buoyed by four points from two games to start to the coronavirus-interrupted campaign.

"Expectations are clear: to be in the top six, to play play-offs and to finish as high as possible. Why not? I have said that before, the team is very well compensated and very competitive," Lopez said. "On the first match of the league against Western United I could confirm how well we work together thanks to the job of the coach.

"I loved the team's proposal, how they played, the intensity, how they fought for every ball, the pressure after losing the ball, I really liked it. Like [Atletico Madrid head coach] Diego Simeone says, his now worldwide famous sentence: 'We need to go match by match'. But the expectations are to finish in the top six, probably something difficult because in football all teams compete. If we keep performing at the previous level I think that is possible."

Lopez brings a wealth of experience to Adelaide – he ranks third for most Espanyol appearances across all competitions, only behind Raul Tamudo and Pochettino following 11 years at RCDE Stadium.

Wearing the captain's armband, Lopez featured in 17 LaLiga matches in 2019-20 as Espanyol were painfully condemned to the second tier of Spanish football for the first time since 1993-94.

"To talk about Espanyol makes me feel emotional, they are an historic club of LaLiga," Lopez said. "I might sound too romantic, but for me Espanyol is everything: my club, my house… I was there 13 years. I gained a feeling that will remain with me forever. If I say it is an honour I might be short, if I say that I am proud I might be short.

"It was a dream to play for Espanyol and to be able to take the captain's armband during many years. Even if I say that it was a dream, I am being short in the description, it has been more than a dream. I had to work really hard to reach that point. I always gave my best, my conscious is very peaceful on this regard. I cannot tell much more, except for that I would love that we would return to the first division at the end of this season."

Lopez also experienced the Derbi Barceloni – a derby dominated by Lionel Messi's Barcelona – and he added: "Sincerely it was one of the games that we wait with hunger. For all of us it was our game, we lived in a city where there is much difference in term of repercussion and media. Barcelona always gathers much more attention than Espanyol, so it was always a chance to reclaim ourselves as a great club.

"We are weapons, with our feelings to our colours, which allow us to compete with anyone. It's true that in the last decade there were very unbalanced derbies because of their great team, but still it was our chance to reclaim how proud we feel about us, our unique feeling. Our pride to be 'Pericos'." 

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.