Sky Blues move top
Sydney FC has moved to the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder after a 1-0 win over Central Coast, while Cassio produced a shot from the top draw to secure Adelaide a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle.
Terry McFlynn's first-half goal was enough for the Sky Blues to see off the Mariners in an entertaining NSW derby at the SFS on Monday afternoon.
The Sky Blues also had keeper Clint Bolton to thank with two brilliant saves in each half to help see off a plucky Mariners side. Befitting this fixture's reputation for goals and action, the game lived up to the hype with a free-flowing encounter in front of 13,887 fans.
Central Coast was denied the lead after 15 minutes by a world-class save from Bolton. Striker Dylan Macallister's header from six yards out looked goal-bound before the shotstopper somehow saved the ball right on the post.
Sydney made the Mariners pay and opened the scoring five minutes later with a superbly worked goal. Captain Steve Corica kept possession under pressure before finding Stuart Musialik with a low ball.
The midfielder's perfectly flighted cross was met by McFlynn whose bullet-header flashed past Danny Vukovic in the Mariners' goal.
The Mariners tried hard for an equaliser, but couldn-t find a way through in a repeat of the scoreline from the inaugural Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
In the late game on the Labour Day public holiday, the Jets took the lead when Jin-Hyung Song scored an early goal before the Reds found the equaliser through a sizzling strike from Cassio at the 76th minute.
Song's goal stemmed from an Adam D'Apuzzo contest with Travis Dodd on the left hand side. D'Apuzzo stripped the Reds captain of the ball, centred across the 'D' where Song had no problem dragging the ball past goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.
United grew in confidence as the match progressed but was under extreme pressure before Cassio scored.
The Brazilian was in space just outside the box when a bouncing ball spilled his way. He got great connection, sent the ball sailing into the right hand corner of the net and left Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy flat footed.
It sparked an exciting conclusion to the contest with Reds substitutes Mathew Leckie and Cristiano unlucky not to register their team's second goal.
In the afternoon's Westfield W-League matches, Central Coast defeated Sydney 3-1 thanks to a double from Michelle Heyman, while Adelaide and Newcastle shared a 0-0 draw.