A-League: Le Fondre hits the spot on Sydney return, Mariners down Jets again

Central Coast Mariners and Sydney both recorded slender away victories over Newcastle Jets and Western United respectively in Saturday’s A-League action.

Sydney briefly moved up to second in the table after an Adam Le Fondre penalty – his first goal since returning to the club – secured them a 1-0 triumph on their visit to Mars Stadium.

Referee Shaun Evans deemed Ivan Vujica had handled inside the penalty area and pointed to the spot, the official confirming his initial decision after a lengthy VAR check.

United goalkeeper Ryan Scott had kept Sydney at bay up until that point but was unable to deny Le Fondre, who is back after a spell with Mumbai City in India.

#FullTimeAL | @SydneyFC pick up the three points in Ballarat.#WUNvSYD #ALeague #WUFC #SydneyIsSkyBlue pic.twitter.com/DExU7T5Lc6

— A-League (@ALeague) May 15, 2021

However, Central Coast leapfrogged back over Sydney in the standings thanks to a 1-0 win of their own in the late kick-off.

A penalty settled the game at McDonald Jones Stadium too, Matt Simon on target in the 54th minute as the Mariners recorded back-to-back wins over the Jets for the first time since October 2014.

Simon has now scored nine A-League goals against Newcastle – only against Melbourne Victory (10) has he managed more in his career.