Adelaide United kicked off Week 6 of A-League action with a vital 2-1 home win over Gold Coast United which allowed them to move off second bottom position on the table.
Former Gold Coast midfielder Zenon Caravella opened the scoring with his first Reds goal just before the hour-mark before the visitors hit back 10 minutes later when promising youngster James Brown netted his fourth of the season with some help from a Caravella deflection. Gold Coast were only back on level terms for a couple of minutes as Iain Ramsay, who had set up the opener, slotted home past Glen Moss to give his side their second victory of the season, consigning the visitors to the bottom.
Melbourne Heart came off a run of three draws with a commanding display to defeat Newcastle Jets 3-0 at AAMI Park thanks to second-half goals from captain Fred, Mate Dugandzic and Aziz Behich to move off the bottom with their first victory of the campaign. The Heart moved to eighth whilst the Jets dropped to fourth with their third away loss of the season and seventh in a row following their last victory away from Ausgrid Stadium coming in January.
Also on Saturday, Melbourne Victory held Central Coast Mariners to a 0-0 draw at Bluetongue Stadium in an open contest with many chances. Victory debutant Lawrence Thomas was brilliant in goals covering for the suspended Ante Covic as his side made it four without loss to remain sixth as the Mariners stayed one point clear of the Victory in fifth.
Mark Bridge's first goal of the season was enough for Sydney FC to record a 1-0 away win over Perth Glory to move to second, replacing the home side whilst Brisbane Roar stretched their unbeaten run to 34 matches after being held to a 1-1 draw by Wellington Phoenix who through Tim Brown, managed to cancel out Besart Berisha's opener which was his seventh of the season. The Roar remain on top with four wins and two draws as the Phoenix dropped to ninth.
2011/12 A-League season scores - Week 6
Adelaide United: 2 (Zenon Caravella 57, Iain Ramsay 69) Gold Coast United: 1 (James Brown 67') Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide - 6,368
Melbourne Heart: 3 (Fred 66', Mate Dugandzic 73', Aziz Behich 85') Newcastle Jets: 0 AAMI Park, Melbourne - 5,914
Central Coast Mariners: 0 Melbourne Victory: 0 Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Perth Glory: 0 Sydney FC: 1 (Mark Bridge 45') nib Stadium, Perth - 9,046
Brisbane Roar: 1 (Besart Berisha 11') Wellington Phoenix: 1 (Tim Brown 37') Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane - 16,428
