Mariners lead Roar into final round

Central Coast Mariners hold a two-point lead over defending champions Brisbane Roar heading into next weekend's final regular round of Australia's A-League season.

The Mariners kept ahead of Brisbane thanks to a Bernie Ibini goal in their 1-0 win over lowly Adelaide United this weekend.

Meanwhile, Brisbane's 2-1 victory over Newcastle means the premiership will be decided on the final day of the season.

Albanian striker Besart Berisha and Mitch Nichols scored for the Roar with the Jets' Iraqi international Ali Abbas netting in reply.

Substitute James Brown scored a second-half brace of goals to help troubled Gold Coast United to a 3-0 win over Perth Glory and their first victory in the A-League since Boxing Day.

Zachary Anderson opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Brown put away two goals in the final 10 minutes to clinch all the points.

Wellington Phoenix's hopes of a home final berth were jolted by Melbourne Victory's 3-0 win at home.

Costa Rican star Carlos Hernandez scored a long-range goal in the 11th minute before substitute Isaka Cernak doubled the lead in the second half and Jimmy Jeggo made it three close to full-time.

Melbourne Heart booked their first A-League finals berth, despite Sydney FC substitute Shannon Cole scoring twice to snatch a comeback draw in Melbourne.

Sydney remained in seventh spot, despite showing typical fighting spirit to turn a two-goal half-time deficit into a 2-2 result.

The draw means they still need to beat the Newcastle Jets at home next Sunday to reach the top-six finals.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.