Melbourne City sealed a crucial success against Central Coast to restore their winning form, while Western United continued their resurgence with a remarkable derby win against Victory.

The league leaders downed the Mariners in the A-League’s ninth round, recovering well after last week’s messy Melbourne derby.

Arthur Papas’ Newcastle Jets secured an impressive triumph over Adelaide, as Western United defeated rivals Melbourne Victory after playing nearly an hour with only ten men on the field.

Macarthur earned Christmas Eve delight with a dominant display against Sydney FC, while Perth and Wellington settled for a draw.

Western Sydney dropped points once more in their stalemate with Brisbane to see them fall four points behind first.

Melbourne City-Central Coast 1-0

The reigning premiers registered their maiden win since the league restart on Tuesday evening (AEDT), thanks in large to another goal from Socceroos marksman Jamie Maclaren.

The star striker (and skipper for the day) bagged the winner in the 39th minute after finishing off an excellent pass across goal from teammate Richard Van der Venne.

Maclaren had an opportunity to double the lead shortly after from the penalty spot, but goalkeeper Danny Vukovic guessed correctly and produced a strong diving save to his right (45+3′).

The Mariners featured Nectarios Triantis for the first 81 minutes of the contest.

Adelaide Utd-Newcastle Jets 0-1

The Jets earned a valuable away success over Adelaide to avoid three straight losses, moving into sixth place in the process.

Newcastle found the back of the net 25 minutes in with an excellent team goal which finished with midfielder Kosta Grozos playing the ball to winger Jaushua Sotirio, who then released a powerful shot that deflected past goalkeeper Joe Gauci.

Jets manager Arthur Papas was left deeply satisfied with his side’s performance in a tough away match in very hot conditions (playing in mid-30 degrees Celsius weather).

“It wasn’t a goal by chance. It was a goal that was created from our work, the way we like to play. When we had to defend, we had to defend well and we did that as well,” Mr Papas told media post-match.

“You need to be able to have both facets of the game (defence and attack) in conditions like this to come away with points in Adelaide which is a really tough place to come to.”

Western Utd-Melbourne Victory 1-0

Western United pulled off an unbelievable success against local rivals Melbourne Victory on Monday evening to record back-to-back wins for the first time this campaign.

The defending champions were given a huge disadvantage when centre half Nikolai Topor-Stanley was sent off for a poor challenge on Victory winger Chris Ikonomidis (32′).

Despite this, Western United found the net first after playmaker James Troisi’s corner was headed in by captain Josh Risdon (45+1′) and they proceeded to defend their lead successfully for the rest of the fixture.

Defender George Timotheou played the whole match in the heart of the Dark Blues’ defence.

Victory coach Tony Popovic was left bitterly disappointed with the result, especially considering the red card which saw their opponents play for nearly an hour with one player less.

“Overall we didn’t do enough to break down ten men. They say very deep and defended well – that’s what they do…I think we could have down a little better with our final decisions. But in the circumstances, it’s disappointing to not at least get a point,” Mr Popovic said to media post-match.

Sydney FC-Macarthur FC 0-3

A brace from former Greek Super League striker Bachana Arabuli steered the Bulls to a brilliant success over the Sky Blues on Saturday afternoon.

After a mostly even first half, Arabuli struck late from close range to give the Campbelltown-based club the lead (45+1′).

Sydney winger Joe Lolley committed a red card offence early into the second period (56′) and Macarthur captain Ulises Davila soon after capitalised with a powerful low driven shot to double their advantage (71′).

Arabuli guaranteed the three points with another goal in the 89th, handing the hosts another home loss (their third already this term).

Macarthur fielded Jerry Skotadis for the final 12 minutes of the game.

Perth Glory-Wellington Phoenix 1-1

Both Perth and Wellington were forced to settle for a point on Friday evening after neither could find the decisive blow.

The Glory opened the scoring following a cross from winger Salim Khelifi which was guided in with a glancing header by striker David Williams (22′).

The Phoenix recovered quickly with a well-worked goal that was finished off by striker Oskar Zawada (31′) in what proved to be the last significant moment of the match.

Wellington forward Kosta Barbarouses came on from the 70th minute but was unable to help his side find that elusive winning goal.

Brisbane Roar-Western Sydney 1-1

Brisbane rescued a draw against the Wanderers to extend their opponents’ winless run to three fixtures.

The Paramatta outfit started well as midfielder Oliver Bozanic scored an easy tap-in goal following a cutback pass from winger Brandon Borrello (18′).

The Queenslanders equalised just after the hour mark when left winger Carlo Armiento released a stunning shot from range which swerved in the air to sail past goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas (62′).

A-League Ladder (teams with a game in hand)

1-Melbourne City: 19 (8)

2-Western Sydney: 15

3-Macarthur FC: 14

4-Central Coast: 13

5-Adelaide Utd: 12

6-Newcastle Jets: 12

7-Wellington Phoenix: 11

8-Brisbane Roar: 11 (8)

9-Melbourne Victory: 10 (8)

10-Sydney FC: 10

11-Western Utd: 10

12-Perth Glory: 7 (8)