Sydney go top
Sydney FC will end 2009 on top of the A-League table after a piece of Steve Corica brilliance handed it a 1-0 win over Adelaide United at the SFS.
The Sky Blues' ninth win from 11 home matches took them to 38 competition points, three ahead of Melbourne who faced North Queensland in the late Sunday kick-off in Townsville.
At the very least, Sydney will be co-competition leaders heading into the new year after Corica's solo effort on 49 minutes sealed a well-deserved win before 11,741 fans.
Adelaide's woes continue, the defeat leaving Aurelio Vidmar's team anchored to the bottom of the table.
The North Queensland Fury inflicted one of the A-League's boilovers of the season as a classy first half strike from Dyron Daal handed the defending Premiers their first loss in five games, going down 1-0 at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Sunday night.
The Fury's 6th win of the season proves even more significant given they jump both Adelaide United and the Wellington Phoenix into eighth spot and keep alive their slim finals chances for Season 2009.
In the National Youth League It was a case of deja-vu at Owen Park on Sunday as Gold Coast Youth emulated the clubs first-team performance demolishing Brisbane Roar Youth 5-1.
A double from in-form striker Kerem Bulut ensured Sydney FC was not ruing a missed penalty as the Sky Blues upset Adelaide United 3-1 in an eventful Youth League encounter at the SFS.
The Melbourne Victory have kept their National Youth League finals chances alive with a 2-0 win over the AIS in their round 18 match at AIS Athletics Track.