John Aloisi scored twice as Sydney FC defeated Perth Glory 3-2 at Parramatta Stadium to keep up the pressure on A-League leaders Melbourne Victory.
The former Portsmouth and Coventry forward struck in the 49th and 87th minutes to secure the three points to set up a tense finale to the regular season with the Sky Blues hosting Melbourne in the final game next weekend.
Victory are top of the standings with 47 points while Sydney and Gold Coast trail by two and three points respectively.
The visitors took the lead in the 24th minute when Shannon Cole was brought down inside the area and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Steve Corica stepped up to drive the penalty straight down the middle of the goal.
Wayne Srhoj levelled for Perth on the stroke of half-time after firing home first time from close range but Aloisi restored his side's lead soon after the restart in somewhat unusual circumstances.
The former Socceroo's mis-hit shot crawled towards goal and Chris Coyne's attempted goalline clearance went through a hole inside the net.
The referee initially awarded a corner but after furious protests from Sydney players and consulting his linesman for several minutes he signalled instead for a goal.
Perth were level again when Daniel McBreen turned home Scott Bulloch's cross but Aloisi looped home a header with three minutes remaining to secure the vital three points.
Elsewhere, Wellington Phoenix climbed to fourth in the standings with a shock 1-0 win over top-two chasing Gold Coast.
The only goal of the game came deep in first-half stoppage time when defender Sebastiaan van den Brink was adjudged to have brought down Tim Brown in the box and Paul Ifill stepped up to smash home the penalty.
The defeat ended Gold Coast's hopes of finishing first in the A-League.
