Melbourne City won a sixth successive A-League match for the first time in their history as Craig Noone helped dismantle Western Sydney Wanderers 4-1.

In Friday's sole A-League fixture, Noone scored twice and set up Andrew Nabbout's goal as City completed a second-half turnaround.

Bernie Ibini put Western Sydney ahead in the 21st minute, but Noone hit back just after the half-hour.

With the scores level heading into the second half, City came flying out of the blocks and had their reward when Nabbout turned in Noone's brilliant cross.

Noone doubled his tally of goals in the competition three minutes later, Nabbout returning the favour to tee up the former Cardiff City winger, who drilled home from a tight angle.

City's star player created eight chances before making way in the 83rd minute, one shy of this season's tally of nine prior to the match, and Jamie Maclaren's excellent half-volley rounded off the victory late on.

Maclaren has now scored 12 goals this season, netting in each of his past six appearances, with City leapfrogging Western Sydney and Adelaide United into second place.

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.

Jamie Maclaren and Nathaniel Atkinson were on target as Melbourne City chalked up a fifth straight win with a 2-0 victory over A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners. 

The Mariners staged a thrilling comeback from two goals down to defeat the same opponents 3-2 the last time these sides met in February, but a resurgent City made no such mistake in rainy conditions this time. 

Maclaren opened the scoring with his eighth goal in his past five appearances, coolly slotting into the right-hand side of the goal from Florin Berenguer's tee-up at AAMI Park. 

That was the in-form striker's eighth goal in his past four matches against the Mariners, and only the form of visiting goalkeeper Mark Birighitti denied Adrian Luna and then Maclaren from extending City's lead.

Atkinson's second A-League goal put City in command after 56 minutes, the full-back finishing from a tight angle after Andrew Nabbout's original shot deflected into his path. 

Maclaren had another great opportunity to extend the lead but his point-blank header was saved by Birighitti.  

City are now fourth in the standings, only four points back of the Mariners with two games in hand on their table-topping opponents.

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.

Macarthur bounced back to winning ways and into third in the A-League with a 2-1 victory over Western United on Saturday.

Markel Susaeta's header just before half-time was the match-winner at a rainy Campbelltown Stadium.

After back-to-back defeats, Macarthur returned to winning ways, jumping up into third in the table, while Western United lost a fourth consecutive game in New South Wales.

Dylan Pierias gave Western United an eighth-minute lead with a spectacular strike, cutting inside from the right after receiving an Alessandro Diamanti pass before smashing an effort into the top corner.

But Macarthur drew level in the 35th minute, Matt Derbyshire scoring with a looping header from Ivan Franjic's cross.

Susaeta's goal just before half-time proved to be the winner.

The Spaniard met a cross from Tommy Oar from the left to head past Western United goalkeeper Ryan Scott.

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.

Matt Simon scored a 90th-minute penalty as A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners scrambled for a 2-2 home draw against Perth Glory. 

In soaking wet conditions, which caused kick-off to be delayed by half an hour and left puddles on the pitch, lowly Perth threatened to snatch a shock win. 

The home side did go ahead in the 25th minute when Daniel De Silva's shot was parried by Liam Reddy and Marco Urena turned in the rebound from a tight angle to the left of goal. 

Bruno Fornaroli dragged Perth level in the 41st minute with a deft header from Neil Kilkenny's cross, and the visitors edged ahead with 14 minutes remaining when Nick D'Agostino hit a crisp shot into the bottom left corner. 

That was Fornaroli's 10th A-League goal against the Mariners, making them his second favourite opponent, behind Newcastle Jets, against whom he has scored 11 times. 

Central Coast pushed for a leveller and were rewarded when Luke Bodnar manhandled Simon inside the six-yard box, with the spot-kick awarded following a VAR check. 

Simon slotted into the bottom right corner, giving Mariners a point that nudged them six clear of second-placed Adelaide United, yet the result halted their three-game winning streak at home.

Dylan Pierias headed Western United to a 1-0 home win over Brisbane Roar. 

The persistence of Pierias paid off after he was twice denied by Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young earlier in the game, with the 21-year-old stooping to expertly guide home a cross from Alessandro Diamanti in the 72nd minute. 

Pierias headed the ball across goal and into the left corner, with former West Ham and Bologna midfielder Diamanti getting a sixth assist of the season, matching Kilkenny for a league high. 

For the Roar, it was a sixth successive A-League game without a win.

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.

Jamie Maclaren maintained his magnificent form by scoring a first-half double as in-form Melbourne City beat Macarthur FC 3-0 to go second in the A-League table. 

Maclaren took his tally to 10 goals in his last eight games as City extended their winning streak to four matches at AAMI Park on Friday. 

The clinical Maclaren headed home Nathaniel Atkinson's cross to open the scoring after 23 minutes and finished at the second attempt when Macarthur were opened up again just two minutes later. 

Patrick Kisnorbo's ruthless side were three goals to the good 10 minutes before half-time, when Craig Noone was played in by Andrew Nabbout and cut inside superbly before drilling home. 

Victory for City moved them above their opponents, who have lost three of their last four games, in the table - six points behind leaders Central Coast Mariners with a game in hand.

 

 

Sydney FC won for the first time in five A-League attempts as they recorded a 2-0 home victory over Western United.

The defending champions had collected two points from their previous four matches and came into the Wednesday's contest sitting eighth in the standings.

But a penalty from Bobo and a close-range strike courtesy of Rhyan Grant had Sydney two goals up after 47 minutes, with Western falling to a second straight defeat.

Bobo opened the scoring after 18 minutes when he scored from 12 yards, Kosta Barbarouses having drawn a foul from Aaron Calver.

On his 200th A-League appearance, Grant found the bottom corner just 113 seconds after half-time, with an assist from the impressive Barbarouses.

A bad day for the visitors got worse when Andrew Durante received a red card in stoppage time for a slap on Jordan Swibel.

Sydney were worthy winners, racking up 19 shots with six on target compared to figures of seven and two from Western.

Australia international Grant created a game-high three chances and completed 56 of his 59 passes in a fine outing on his milestone appearance.

Central Coast Mariners boosted their lead atop the A-League to seven points thanks to a 2-0 win over Macarthur in their top-of-the-league clash on Monday.

Macarthur were hoping to inflict a second defeat in three games on the hosts and move to within one point of the summit, but the Mariners produced a professional display to get the job done.

It took the home side only nine minutes to go in front, with Matt Simon's shot deflecting over the unfortunate Adam Frederici in the Macarthur goal.

The away side should have restored parity early in the second half when Aleksandar Susnjar hit two feeble efforts straight at the goalkeeper from point-blank range.

Mariners capitalised nine minutes from time, Matthew Hatch turning home with his first touch in A-League football 25 seconds after coming off the bench.

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.

Melbourne City enjoyed one of their finest A-League wins on Saturday as they destroyed Melbourne Victory 6-0 in the derby.

A run of four defeats in five home games in the top flight ensured Victory were certainly the underdogs coming into the contest, but the one-sided nature of this loss will pile further pressure on head coach Grant Brebner.

City were looking to win back-to-back games against Victory for the first time in A-League history, but a dominant start faltered when Jamie Maclaren missed a penalty after 18 minutes.

Victory held out until nine minutes before the break, when Maclaren steered home following a Nuno Reis corner.

Two goals in four minutes after the break from Florin Berenguer and Rostyn Griffiths put the visitors in charge, and it got worse for Victory in the final quarter of an hour.

Connor Metcalfe struck twice in three minutes, blasting in off the post before tapping in a Maclaren cut-back, before Stefan Colakovski's precise low strike with effectively the last kick of the game triggered boos from the home fans.

Victory ended the match, the 2,000th in the competition's history, without even a shot on target as they stay rooted to the bottom of the table. City are into fourth.

In the earlier game, Sydney FC recovered to draw 1-1 with Brisbane Roar at Moreton Daily Stadium.

Substitute Bobo scored his first goal of the season for the Sky Blues 71 minutes in after Dylan Wenzel-Halls had put Brisbane ahead.

They remain three points ahead of Sydney in the table, with the reigning champions eighth after winning just three of their opening nine games.

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.

Central Coast Mariners moved four points clear at the A-League summit with a 2-1 victory over Perth Glory.

Matt Simon and Marco Urena were on target at HBF Park, where Bruno Fornaroli scored for the hosts, as the Mariners won for only the second time in their previous 26 league matches outside of New South Wales.

Alen Stajcic's side now boast seven wins from 10 games, with Macarthur, who the Mariners face next Monday, their nearest rivals.

Simon kept his cool to control with his chest and slot home the opener after just six minutes, with Urena heading in his first A-League goal before the break.

Fornaroli's close-range header from substitute Andy Keogh's cross in the 65th minute set up a tense finish but the Mariners held firm.

In Tuesday's other game, Jamie Maclaren's double led Melbourne City to a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

Maclaren, last season's top scorer, took his tally for the campaign to seven in eight league games with a strike in each half, the second coming from the spot.

City have now won back-to-back games after four consecutive losses.

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