KEY POINTS:
After three matches in which they could not beat a team reduced to 10 players, they broke through for their first win in five outings - against a Perth Glory side which ended the match at Westpac Stadium with only nine men.
Shane Smeltz again stepped up for
the rejigged Phoenix, scoring first (from the spot) and last to take his season haul to seven and equal top spot in the golden boot race with Newcastle's Joel Griffiths.
The 3-0 round 16 triumph was the first win for the Phoenix since they beat the same team 1-0 away in round 11 (on November 2) and kept slim play-off chances alive. Those hopes would have been greater had the two teams immediately above them on the Hyundai A-League table - Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC - not grabbed points with stoppage time goals.
After battling all the way at home to the Newcastle Jets, Sydney won 1-0 with a Steve Corica header in the third minute of stoppage time. It was stirring stuff for a Sydney side which has yet to produce the football expected from the team favoured to win the title.
They got home in front of a disappointing crowd of 10,732, despite playing the last 38 minutes a player short after Ruben Zadkovich was sent off.
Melbourne too got up at the death in a game in which they too were always battling. At home to Adelaide United, Melbourne fell behind in the 17th minute when Adelaide captain Paul Agostino scored. He added a second for 2-0 early in the second spell.
The 22,466 fans at the Telstra Dome feared the worst but in the end were happy to accept a 2-2 draw and a point. Kevin Muscat got them started in the 71st minute with a penalty. An own goal in the second minute of added time salvaged an unlikely point.
In contrast, there were no late heroics at Suncorp Stadium as all the goals were scored in the opening half hour as Queensland Roar upset leaders Central Coast Mariners 2-1.
The Queenslanders held on for their seventh win of the season and second place - a point out of the lead.
The Roar now face the transtasman crossing for a Friday night date with the Phoenix. A repeat of their 3-0 win when the two sides met in Brisbane a month ago, would catapult Frank Farina's team to the top of the table. They would hold the top spot for the weekend if Adelaide United, at home, draw with or beat Central Coast in Friday's late game.
