Melbourne Victory have joined local rivals Melbourne City in the A-League Women's top two after each eked out one-goal wins.
Ladder leaders City trailed at home to Wellington on Saturday but two goals in under two minutes midway through the second half earned them a 2-1 success.
Victory climbed above Brisbane Roar into second spot with a 1-0 away win over bottom of the table Sydney FC, with the defending champions slumping to a fourth-straight loss.
Brisbane will regain second spot if they win away to Western United on Sunday.
City’s unbeaten record looked in jeopardy as they trailed for half an hour despite dominating possession.
Each side gifted the other a goal.
Wellington went ahead in the 37th minute after City’s Spanish goalkeeper Malena Mieres tried to play the ball out from the back but passed straight to Grace Jale on the edge of the penalty area.
Jale’s shot was pushed out to English forward Olivia Fergusson, who tapped in from close range for her first ALW goal.
For all their possession City failed to get a shot on target, but drew level in the 67th minute through an own goal.
Alivia Kelly’s header off a Tyla-Jay Vlajnic cross looped over her goalkeeper Carolina Vilao.
Little more than a minute later, City hit the front with a header from Laura Hughes, her third goal of the season, from a fine Alexia Apostolakis cross.
The visitors had a couple of shots late in the game, but City held on to record a fifth straight win over the Phoenix, who had their four-match unbeaten run snapped.
City’s haul of 13 points from losing positions this campaign is better than any other team’s, while Wellington suffered their first loss in just over a year after leading at halftime.
At Allianz Stadium, the only goal of the game came in the 14th minute after the Victory were awarded a contentious penalty when Millie Farrow was judged to have fouled Alex Chidiac.
Alana Jancevski’s spot kick proved too precise and powerful for Sydney goalkeeper Tahlia Franco, who dived the right way.
It was a deserved reward for the away side who dominated early possession and created more chances.
Sydney came into the game more as the first half developed and started to look more dangerous.
The Sky Blues' Maddie Caspers was booked for a nasty looking challenge on Jancevski at the start of the second half, but with no VAR in operation she escaped further scrutiny.
The hosts had plenty of ball in the final quarter, but City defended well and neither side created clear cut opportunities, with just five shots on target between them.
The result provided a winning farewell for Victory and Matildas midfielder Beattie Goad who announced her retirement earlier in the day.
Goad won three caps for Australia in 2021.
