Ten-man Western United hold on against Phoenix sbs.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sbs.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Jamie Maclaren scored five goals in Melbourne City s 7-0 mauling of Melbourne Victory in the standout fixture of Matchweek 17.
Brisbane Roar kicked off the Matchweek with a 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, before Central Coast Mariners Mariners lost 1-0 to Western United on Saturday afternoon, allowing City to jump into top spot on the A-League table on Saturday night.
Sunday saw a triple-header take place, with Adelaide coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval and Newcastle Jets tying with Macarthur FC by the same margin.
Matchweek 17 concluded with a 3-1 Wellington Phoenix win over Perth Glory away from home - a result which helped Ufuk Talay s side stick tight to Western United and Roar as the three sides placed seventh to ninth continue to push for a place in the top six.
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Sunday s clash at AAMI Park shaped as a must-win for Mark Rudan s side after two consecutive losses and Dylan Pierias 72nd-minute header proved enough.
In the process, United extended the Roar s winless run to six games - with Warren Moon s side last securing three points against Melbourne Victory on February 6.
Italian star Diamanti returned to the squad after missing their loss to Sydney FC but was named on the bench.
The game was pushed back half an hour in the wake of Central Coast s clash with Perth suffering a rain delay and it was Brisbane who started fastest.
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Playing in his 200th A-League game, Socceroos fullback Grant rounded off a fine 47th-minute move to slide the ball home in Wednesday s match at Netstrata Jubilee Oval.
He doubled the half-time lead Sydney earned through an 18th minute penalty from Bobo as the Sky Blues were good value for their win.
The victory - Sydney s first in five games - lifted Sydney to seventh level on points with Brisbane, who held on to sixth by virtue of having scored more goals than the Sydneysiders.
United finished with 10 men after veteran defender Andrew Durante caught Jordan Swibel with a hand to the face in additional time.
Iker Guarrotxena announced himself to the A-League with a sumptuous run and finish in Western United's 4-1 win over Macarthur FC on Saturday afternoon.
The Spaniard's first A-League goal came in his fourth United appearance of the 2020/21 season.
It was the first of four scored by the Green and Black in the dominant victory, and Guarrotxena's finish was the pick of the bunch. Collecting the ball from Connor Pain on the left flank near the halfway line, Guarrotxena drove through midfield toward goal.