Melbourne City has ascended into second position after a brilliant performance against Central Coast, leaving them only one point behind crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory.

The reigning premiers earned a relatively comfortable win over the Mariners in one of four A-League matches played this weekend.

Adelaide ensured Brisbane’s recent good form was temporary while Perth’s fortunes seem to have finally turned after they defeated Sydney FC, with captain and former Sky Blue Brandon O’Neill playing a huge part.

Wellington ruined Western United’s first match of the year as they put an end to their own poor run of form.

READ MORE: Adelaide and City share the points in a thrilling 2-2 weekend stalemate

Central Coast Mariners-Melbourne City 1-3
The defending champions got back to winning ways in style on Sunday evening after three consecutive draws had slightly halted their momentum.

City striker Jamie Maclaren scored his fourth goal in as many games to put his side ahead (18’) when forward Marcos Urena equalised for the hosts with a fantastic finish into the bottom left (41’).

The travellers took control of the match in the second half with goals to winger Andrew Nabbout (57’) and substitute defender Carl Jenkinson (84’) securing the three points.

Brisbane Roar-Adelaide United 1-3
A brace to star winger Craig Goodwin steered the Reds to victory, ensuring Brisbane’s emotional high from their first league win was short-lived.

Roar forward Nikola Mileusnic stunned the travelling team, pouncing on an error to score just two minutes into the match.

The South Australian club dominated the rest of the night’s proceedings, converting two penalties through Goodwin (24’) and captain Stefan Mauk (48’) respectively before Goodwin sealed the result with his second in the 85th minute.

Sydney FC-Perth Glory 1-2
An ex-Sky Blue came back to haunt the Sydney Giants, leading Glory to a crucial win on Saturday evening in just their second match of the year.

The visitors’ captain Brandon O’Neill opened the scoring (55’) in his first match against his former side where he spent five seasons and won five trophies.

Former Panathinaikos striker Bruno Fornaroli secured a pivotal goal for the away side in the 85th with a composed finish into the bottom left corner as Sydney midfielder Anthony Caceres managed to convert what was ultimately a consolation penalty (90+3’).

Sky Blues manager Steve Corica was frustrated with his team’s performance, lamenting their failure to convert chances as well as their “sloppy” defending.

“It’s the final third where we are lacking (the ability) to finish chances off and that’s been the case for a couple of weeks now. We can say that we have Le Fondre out and Barbarouses out but we should be good enough to have won this game tonight,” Mr Corica said post-match.

“I know we have played four games in ten days which makes it difficult for the players to turn around but that’s no excuse for defending the way we had.”

Wellington Phoenix-Western United 2-1
Wellington sparked some life into their league campaign as they ended their four-match losing streak on Friday night.

The New Zealanders winger Walter Sandoval marked his club debut with a brilliant finish in the 16th minute before striker Gary Hooper doubled their advantage with a strike which wrong-footed goalkeeper Jamie Young (35’).

The Green and Blacks were dealt a further blow when defender Tomoki Imai was sent off for a professional foul (90+1’), though they did earn a consolation goal after winger Christian Theoharous assisted midfielder Steven Lustica’s powerful strike (90+4’).

Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay was very satisfied with his side’s effort, admitting that the lack of training time leading up to the fixture had him concerned for how they would perform.

“I will be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect, what we were going to get out of the players with only three sessions leading into the game. They showed some very good character and some good football with and without the ball at times so overall I’m pleased,” Mr Talay said post-match.

A-League table (number of matches played in brackets)

1-Melbourne Victory:  14 (7)

2-Melbourne City: 13 (8)

3-Macarthur FC:  13 (6)

4-Western United:  12 (7)

5-Adelaide United:  11 (9)

6-Central Coast:  9 (5)

7-Sydney FC:  9 (8)

8-Perth Glory:  7 (6)

9-Wellington Phoenix:  7 (7)

10-Western Sydney:  6 (6)

11-Newcastle Jets:  5 (5)

12-Brisbane Roar:  5 (7)

 

A League Round 12 fixtures currently scheduled at time of publication

Perth Glory-Macarthur FC (postponed)

Brisbane Roar-WS Wanderers:  Sat 29 Jan

Wellington Phoenix-Melbourne Victory (postponed)

Western United-Melbourne City:  Sat 29 Jan

Sydney FC-CC Mariners:  Sun 30 Jan

Newcastle Jets-Adelaide United:  Sun 30 Jan