Sasa Ognenovski headed home his first goal for Adelaide United as they defeated Sydney FC 2-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium to reclaim second spot on the A-League ladder as Charlie Miller scored a wonder goal for Queensland Roar against Perth.

The defensive strong-man netted from a pinpoint Kristian Sarkies free-kick seconds before half-time to cap a memorable 50th A-League appearance watched by 9509 fans on Saturday night.

United captain Travis Dodd then made sure Adelaide snapped a four-match losing run, including the Asian Champions League final, by netting his sixth goal of the season in the 77th minute.

Melbourne Victory star striker Archie Thompson has scored the winner for his side for the second straight match as they notched a 2-1 A-League victory over Central Coast Mariners at Telstra Dome.

John Hutchinson had given the visitors a 34th minute lead before Tom Pondeljak  equalised three minutes later.

The Mariners came into the game in second place and would have overtaken Victory at the top of the ladder had they won, with the home side instead extending their lead to six points with their third straight win.

In an entertaining and physical game, Thompson broke a 1-1 half-time deadlock when he scored in the 60th minute.
He calmly slotted the ball past 'keeper Danny Vukovic after a well timed run to link up with a Billy Celeski through-ball.

Roar Skipper Craig Moore - who underwent surgery for testicular cancer less than a fortnight ago - was a surprise inclusion as Queensland Roar buried their home ground jinx with a 4-1 A-League win over Perth Glory.

Moore, who had an operation for testicular cancer just 12 days ago, returned to the fold to guide the Roar to their first win at Suncorp Stadium this season.

Sergio Van Dijk, Taj Minniecon, Charlie Miller and Mitch Nichols all scored for Queensland and Jamie Harnwell got one back for Perth Glory. 

Reigning A-League champions Newcastle Jets' problems deepened dramatically, with Socceroos Joel Griffiths and Mark Milligan sent off as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand.

Two goals in the final 11 minutes to striker Shane Smeltz and substitute Troy Hearfield settled the match for the Phoenix, who moved within sight of the top four with the win at Westpac Stadium.

A-League Ladder after Round 12

Team    P    W    D    L    GF    GA    GD    Pts
01    Melbourne Victory    12    7    2    3    22    12    10    23
02    Adelaide United    12    6    2    4    17    15    2    20
03    Queensland Roar    12    5    3    4    17    12    5    18
04    Central Coast Mariners    12    4    5    3    24    18    6    17
05    Sydney FC    12    4    4    4    20    16    4    16
06    Wellington Phoenix    12    4    3    5    12    16    -4    15
07    Newcastle United Jets    12    2    5    5    11    20    -9    11
08    Perth Glory    12    3    2    7    15    29    -14    11

AAP