Soccer: Stoppage-time strike ends Knights' dogged resistance

The New Zealand Knights were cruelly denied a deserved third straight draw when beaten 1-0 by the Central Coast Mariners with a stoppage time strike in Gosford last night.

After giving almost as good as they got for long periods, the Knights, chasing more points at the Central Coast Stadium, were stung by Dean Heffernan's 91st-minute goal.

The points were enough to take the Mariners into third place and play-off contention.

The first half was an arm wrestle but with the Knights keen to take the advantage of having an extra player in midfield.

With Zenon Caravella and Naoki Imaya winning good ball, the Knights were able to push forward. Sadly, though, too many passes were either misdirected or under-weighted, allowing the Mariners' defence to intercept.

Kris Bright had three half chances, the best, after a pass from Jeremy Christie, sailed just over the crossbar.

The home side had the better chances but Glen Moss in goal for his first start in ages, was equal to anything they threw at him and denied Andre Gumprecht their best chance.

The second half began in much the same vein, with Gumprecht testing the defence before finding Damien Brown, who had his attempt blocked.

Moss was called on again a couple of minutes later when John Hutchinson beat the offside trap, set himself and fired a close-range shot which Moss expertly blocked.

The visitors then enjoyed one of their better stanzas as they pushed forward to create another Bright half chance which goalkeeper Danny Vukovic palmed for a second corner in as many minutes.

With Neil Emblen replacing Sean Devine, the Knights had a greater physical presence in attack and sought to capitalise but without success as the home side led by inspirational substitute Tom Pondeljak pushed forward in search of a desperately needed goal, which arrived about the time the Gosford faithful had given up all hope.

In earlier 17th-round action, leaders Adelaide United strengthened their hold on top spot with a no-frills 1-0 home win over Melbourne Victory.

Travis Dodd's 15th-minute strike was enough to get United home and leave the under-performing Victory with only the Knights below them on the table.

Second-placed Sydney FC lost further ground when held to a scoreless home draw by the Newcastle Jets, despite having 55 per cent of possession, a 14-8 advantage in shots and a favourable 5-2 corner count.

Playing at home brought even less joy for Perth Glory when beaten 2-0 by the Queensland Roar.

Reinaldo Elias da Costa opened the scoring after 11 minutes and later watched as Michael Baird, the player who replaced him in the 63rd minute, made certain of the points with his 81st-minute goal.