Adelaide United continue to lose ground on A-League leaders Melbourne City following a 0-0 draw with Wellington Phoenix.

The hosts saw Ryan Strain sent off 16 minutes from time to dampen hopes of a late rally, with Carl Veart's men winless in four.

Adelaide are now six points behind City and have played a game more, with a trip to Melbourne to face their rivals next on the agenda.

Having been held to a goalless draw last time out against Western United, Adelaide started brightly and Stefan Mauk should have capitalised on Josh Cavallo's fine delivery, but instead miscontrolled when well placed.

Tomi Juric saw a strong header saved smartly by Oliver Sail as the home side pressed, but after a blank first half ambition had to take a back seat when Strain got his marching orders for a second yellow card after he kicked the ball away.

Macarthur came from behind to claim an entertaining 2-1 win at Melbourne Victory and climb to third in the A-League.

In the sides' first ever meeting, the Bulls made the most of their hosts' defensive woes, although they scored with two of only three shots on target.

Victory led against the run of play when Rudy Gestede – deemed just onside by a VAR review – won a header to play in Elvis Kamsoba, who blasted in his second goal of the season from the left side of the area.

That advantage lasted only eight minutes, however, as Markel Susaeta's shot from a tight angle deflected off Nicholas Ansell and high past Matthew Acton.

The struggling home side then enjoyed their best spell with a series of chances, including a Jake Brimmer free-kick that bounced away off the crossbar.

But Macarthur, who finished with 59.9 per cent of the possession, were back in control after half-time.

Although James Meredith handled before Jake McGing scored, seeing the goal ruled out, the guilty party made amends when he headed in himself from Benat Etxebarria's corner.

That goal was the 50th Victory have conceded this season – by far the most in the division – and it settled the match despite a late opportunity for Gestede from which Adam Federici saved well.

Central Coast Mariners missed the opportunity to put pressure on A-League leaders Melbourne City after they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Melbourne Victory on Sunday. 

The Mariners started on the front foot and went ahead in the fourth minute when Matt Simon headed in Stefan Nigro's cross. 

Simon went close again soon after, while Josh Nisbet and Alou Kuol were denied by Victory goalkeeper Matt Acton. 

They were made to pay for those missed chances shortly after the half-hour, when Callum McManaman curled into the top-right corner from 15 yards after a Jake Brimmer free-kick had been cleared into his path. 

Jacob Butterfield went agonisingly close to a stunning stoppage-time winner when his long-range half-volley was pawed away by Mark Birighitti.

The result means the Mariners remain three points adrift of Melbourne City at the A-League summit, having played two games more than the leaders.

Victory, meanwhile, are in 11th, two points ahead of bottom side Newcastle Jets.

Western Sydney Wanderers claimed an enthralling 3-2 derby win over Sydney FC to keep Melbourne City's four-point lead at the top of the A-League intact.

Steve Corica's men had designs on eating into that advantage but were caught cold by their neighbours at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday.

Bruce Kamau clattered home Ziggy Gordon's low right-wing cross via the upright in the 12th minutes and it was soon 2-0 when Mitchell Duke found the bottom corner on the end of Bernie Ibini's deft flick to crown a wonderful team move.

Sydney FC avoided any further damage before the break and Alex Wilkinson headed home Alexander Baumjohann's corner two minutes into the second period to breathe fresh life into the contest.

Wanderers substitute Scott McDonald was the beneficiary of further slack set-piece marking 16 minutes from time and the hosts appeared to be safe as the game ticked towards 90 minutes.

Sydney FC produced a remarkable late rally, though – Bobo blazing an 82nd-minute penalty over after the VAR penalised Western Sydney skipper Graham Dorrans for a challenge on Trent Buhagiar.

The experienced striker made amends by pouncing for his 50th A-League goal in stoppage time and there was still time for Anthony Caceres to smash a shot from outside the box against the underside of the crossbar.

Saturday's other matches lacked for similar drama as Macarthur's trip to Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar's home game against Wellington Phoenix each finished goalless.

Adelaide United missed the chance to go second in the A-League as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Western United in an ill-tempered and dramatic encounter on Friday.

The first of two goals disallowed by VAR came in the 16th minute as Tomislav Uskok appeared to handle the ball in the process of nudging it on to Besart Berisha for an easy close-range finish.

Western were then dealt a significant blow just past the half-hour mark as Victor Sanchez was dismissed for a second booking, though Adelaide struggled to make their numerical advantage count.

In fact, it was Western who again had the ball in the net with 11 minutes to go, as Dylan Pierias latched on to a ball over the Adelaide defence, skipped past approaching goalkeeper Joe Gauci – who took out one of his defenders in the process – and tucked into an empty net.

But another VAR review saved Adelaide, this one rather more controversial as footage of the decision-making process suggested it was inconclusive, or marginal at best regarding the call for offside.

It continued to heat up in the latter stages, with an apparent dive by Adelaide's Ben Halloran sparked something of a brawl, which resulted in yellow cards being shown to Alhassan Toure and Andrew Durante.

Toure was then sent off four minutes later for a crude challenge on Durante as a feisty contest ultimately ended level.

Jamie Maclaren scored a landmark goal as Melbourne City went four points clear at the top of the A-League with a clinical 3-1 win over lowly Newcastle Jets.

Captain Scott Jamieson and Maclaren, the league's leading scorer, added second-half strikes to an early own goal, before Steven Ugarkovic grabbed a late consolation for the league's bottom side.

The result means Melbourne City hold a comfortable lead over Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners, who each have 31 points and have both played one more game than the leaders.

City edged ahead against Newcastle in the 32nd minute when Andrew Nabbout raced in from the left and shot across goal, with his strike taking a decisive deflection off Jets defender Johnny Koutroumbis on its way past goalkeeper Lewis Italiano.

Captain Jamieson scored the goal of the game and his first for the club after 59 minutes when he surged forward, coming from a deep position on the left, and curled a 20-yard strike in off the right post.

Maclaren bundled in from close range for City's third goal 10 minutes later after Nabbout won a race to the ball and centred from the right, giving the striker an easy put-away for his 20th goal of this A-League season.

Maclaren has now scored 20 or more goals in four different seasons in the A-League. No other player has reached that mark in more than two seasons since the start of 2011-12 (Besart Berisha in 2011-12 and 2016-17).

The only disappointment for the hosts was they did not manage a clean sheet. They were caught napping in the 87th minute, with Matthew Millar stealing possession in midfield and feeding Ugarkovic who finished tidily past Tom Glover.

City have now won their past six home games in the A-League, their longest winning sequence at home in the competition, scoring at least three times in five of those matches.

Brisbane Roar hammered out-of-form Central Coast Mariners 4-0 in Wednesday's A-League clash to move within striking distance of the top six and earn a slice of history.

Goals from Macaulay Gillesphey and Joseph Champness had Roar two goals ahead, and a straight red card for Marco Urena just after the hour preceded more Mariners woe with subs Alex Parsons and Masato Kudo on target late on at Central Coast Stadium.

A third straight win sees Roar up to seventh, just one point shy of sixth-place Western United, while the Mariners are still third but now have just one win in their past eight.

Victory also means Roar are undefeated in 19 games against the Mariners (W15, D4), marking the longest undefeated streak of any team against a single opponent in A-League history.

The breakthrough arrived after 19 minutes when Gillesphey volleyed home at the back post after Jay O'Shea's right-wing cross was deflected into his path.

Champness brilliantly drilled home a 25-yard effort for his first A-League goal in two years shortly before Urena saw red after a VAR check for a poor tackle on O'Shea.

Parsons bent home his first A-League goal in the 89th minute and the scoring was completed with a near-post finish by Kudo in injury time.

An early goal from Bobo was enough to give Sydney FC a 1-0 home win over Melbourne Victory that put them second in the A-League on Tuesday.

Bobo headed in a cross from Luke Brattan after six minutes as Sydney ended a run of three consecutive draws to move one point behind leaders Melbourne City, though they have played two games more.

Victory remain second-bottom despite a battling performance without suspended quartet Callum McManaman, Robbie Kruse, Jake Brimmer and Adama Traore.

Sydney forward Kosta Barbarouses had three efforts kept out by Matt Acton, who ended the match with an impressive nine saves that kept the contest close.

The hosts were worthy winners, finishing with 10 shots on target to Victory's three, Alex Baumjohann creating five chances in a lively showing.

But Ben Folami squandered a headed opportunity for Victory while Lleyton Brooks hit the post in the second half with an aerial effort of his own as Sydney almost paid the price for not putting the result beyond doubt.

Western United recorded a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets on Monday – their second triumph over the A-League strugglers in the month of April.

A Lachlan Wales goal in the first minute of proceedings had secured United a 1-0 triumph at McDonald Jones Stadium on April 5.

Wales was involved in an early opener again at AAMI Park, sending in a low cross that Newcastle captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley prodded into his own net in the 12th minute.

Dylan Pierias tapped in a second for the hosts midway through the second half, converting from close range after good work by substitute Aaron Calver down United's right flank.

The Jets had 13 attempts but managed to hit the target with just three of them. Their winless run now stands at 10 games, stretching back to a 1-0 triumph over Melbourne Victory on February 21, as they sit bottom.

As for United, they move into the top six in the table and still have games in hand on the teams above them apart from leaders Melbourne City.

Tomer Hemed scored from the penalty spot deep into added time as Wellington Phoenix rallied from a goal down to beat Adelaide United 2-1 on Sunday.

Adelaide had lost one of the previous 13 A-League meetings between the teams and knew a win on ANZAC Day would move them to the top of the table, above both second-placed Central Coast Mariners and leaders Melbourne City.

They appeared set to do just that when Stefan Mauk converted a cut-back cross following a run by Ryan Strain down United's right flank, breaking the deadlock in the 51st minute.

However, that lead did not last too long. Ben Waine made it four goals in as many games to get Wellington level, seizing on a loose ball before rounding goalkeeper Joe Gauci to score.

The contest at WIN Stadium appeared set to finish as a draw, only for Wellington to have a chance to win it late when Gauci was adjudged to have fouled Phoenix substitute Jaushua Sotirio during a scramble inside the penalty area.

Hemed held his nerve to convert the penalty in the 97th minute, clinching Wellington – who are on a four-game unbeaten run - a first league triumph over Adelaide since December 2019.

Brisbane Roar had also been due to host Perth Glory on Sunday, but their fixture was postponed following the introduction of a three-day lockdown by the Western Australian and Queensland Governments in relation to the Perth and Peel areas.

Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners both dropped points on Saturday as the battle at the A-League summit intensified.

City, fresh from a resounding 7-0 win over rivals Melbourne Victory, missed the chance to extend their lead after being held to a 1-1 draw by Macarthur.

That came following a 2-2 draw for second-placed Central Coast Mariners against Sydney.

It means City's advantage at the top is one point, while Macarthur are only three further back in fifth spot.

The Mariners failed to put maximum pressure on the leaders as they surrendered a two-goal lead on home soil.

Alen Stajcic's men appeared to be coasting after first-half strikes from Marco Urena and Matty Simon, but Milos Ninkovic cut the deficit before the break.

And the comeback was completed seven minutes from time when Trent Buhagiar capitalised on a mistake at the back to seal a point for Sydney.

Presented with a chance to move three points clear at the top, City faltered.

Connor Metcalfe's volley put Patrick Kisnorbo's men ahead with a fine volley, but Macarthur earned a share of the spoils courtesy of Michael Ruhs following some questionable defending.

Western United put an end to a three-match losing run against Wellington Phoenix thanks to a 1-1 draw at UTAS Stadium.

Wellington lost 1-0 to their opponents in October 2019 but had prevailed in each A-League meeting since that inaugural encounter.

Their successful streak included a 3-2 triumph over United on April 11 thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Ben Waine.

The teenage forward was on target again on Thursday too, putting Phoenix into an early lead when turning in a cross from Ulises Davila in the seventh minute.

However, having seen his team concede in the opening 15 minutes of a game for just the second time this season, Lachlan Wales curled in an impressive equaliser just before the half-hour mark.

United collected a point despite having to play the entire second half down to 10 men, Brendan Hamill dismissed in added time before the interval after receiving a second yellow card.

Adelaide United missed the chance to go top of the A-League but at least avoided suffering defeat as they fought from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Sydney on Sunday.

It looked as though Adelaide were on their way to a second loss in four games, as Bobo rounded off a lovely move to open the scoring in the 19th minute, before doubling his tally early in the second half with a simple finish into an empty net after Kosta Barbarouses wasted a one-on-one situation.

But United pulled one back 15 minutes from time, Jordan Elsey turning in a left-wing cross, and Tomi Juric's fierce strike a few moments later restored parity.

Adelaide might have gone on to seal the win and subsequently leap above Melbourne City, who went top on Saturday with a remarkable 7-0 derby win over Melbourne Victory, but Rhyan Grant brought Craig Goodwin down as the last man to earn a straight red deep into stoppage time.

Just outside Sydney, Macarthur were held to a 2-2 draw by the Newcastle Jets, whose club-record winless streak was extended to eight games.

But just as they did last week against Perth Glory, the Jets showed character to fight back from behind, with Charles M'Mombwa and Loic Puyo putting Macarthur 2-1 up after Roy O'Donovan's penalty had initially put the visitors in front.

Steven Ugarkovic equalised just before the hour mark with a gorgeous 20-yard effort and that ultimately salvaged a point.

The day's late game was similarly entertaining and did yield a winner as Wellington Phoenix beat Glory 3-1, with all goals coming in the second half.

Ben Waine caught Glory goalkeeper Luke Reddy out of his net for the first, only for Joel Chianese to equalise two minutes later with a stunning effort, picking out the top-left corner after slaloming between a couple of defenders.

But Louis Fenton tapped in to make it 2-1 with 66 on the clock and Jaushua Sotirio - released by the lively Ulises Davila - showed great composure to seal the win and boost the Phoenix's outside chances of reaching the Finals.

Jamie Maclaren scored five times as Melbourne City thrashed 10-man Melbourne Victory 7-0 in an astonishing derby match.

City moved top of the A-League on Saturday with a Melbourne derby victory that will live long in the memory.

Andrew Nabbout had given the hosts an early lead but there were no signs an extraordinary contest was on the cards until a 30th-minute red card for Victory captain Adama Traore for a foul on the goalscorer.

Nabbout won a penalty shortly after the red card which was converted by Maclaren and it stayed 2-0 until the 64th minute.

That was when the floodgates opened.

Substitute Marco Tilio set up Maclaren for the third goal before winning a penalty that the striker converted to bring up a hat-trick with 15 minutes left to play.

The lead remained at four until a remarkable spree saw City score three times in the space of 178 seconds from the 84th minute.

Maclaren scored two of them before Adrian Luna finished the rout in style, leaving the Victory players dumbfounded.

Tilio ended the night with two assists while Luna had a game-high four key passes, with Victory mustering only one shot on target compared to 10 for the hosts.

City had beaten their rivals Victory 6-0 in the first derby of the season, with this match capping a remarkable double.

In the first game of the day, Western United defeated Central Coast Mariners 1-0 in Tasmania.

A fifth-minute goal from Connor Pain – after a one-two with Besart Berisha – proved to be the only goal.

Central Coast have now fallen to one point behind Melbourne City at the top of the table.

Western Sydney Wanderers winless run was extended to five A-League matches as they went down 2-1 at home to Brisbane Roar.

Josh Brindell-South's maiden A-League goal put visitors Brisbane ahead 18 minutes into the contest, with the defender lashing home on the rebound after Dylan Wenzel-Halls' effort was kept out.

Bruce Kamau's controlled finish restored parity within five minutes, but Brisbane had lost only one of their last seven A-League matches against Western Sydney heading into the game, and the hosts were behind again before half-time.

Joe Champness was the creator with a wonderful first-time, left-wing cross to Riku Danzaki, who duly tucked away.

Western Sydney had 19 shots in the second half as they looked to equalise once again, but ultimately fell short as they slumped to a first home defeat in four matches.