Jamie Maclaren's 10th goal of the season has proved enough to lead Melbourne City to a 1-0 win over Central Coast and keep top spot on the A-League Men table.
In City's first game since the abandoned Melbourne derby, Maclaren's 39th-minute strike proved the difference, while Mariners skipper Danny Vukovic denied the Socceroo from the spot just before half-time.
The win put City four points clear of second-placed Western Sydney and extended fourth-placed Central Coast's winless run in Victoria to 27 games (22 losses and five draws).
Emerging left-back Jordan Bos, who has kept skipper Scott Jamieson out of City's starting line-up, was involved in the goal and again impressed with several dashing runs.
The Mariners turned to Garang Kuol in the 63rd minute but the Socceroos wunderkind was unable to deliver any magic, while fellow World Cup attendee Jason Cummings was kept quiet.
Ten days after he was concussed by a metal bucket in the Melbourne derby pitch invasion, City goalkeeper Tom Glover returned to play with a dressing on the left side of his face and kept a clean sheet.
The game ebbed and flowed given the extreme heat in Melbourne, with two drinks breaks per half.
Bos delivered one of the highlights of the match in the 20th minute when he pinched the ball off Cummings and went on a wonderful weaving run through the centre of AAMI Park.
The teenager neatly offloaded to Marco Tilio who skimmed a shot just over the bar.
City broke the stalemate when Bos released Richard van der Venne down the left wing.
The Dutchman nicked the ball around Dan Hall then whipped a wonderful left-footed cross across goal for Maclaren to smash home at the back post.
City earned a penalty in the first minute of injury time after Hall clumsily went into van der Venne's back, but Vukovic made a strong one-handed save to deny Maclaren.
Central Coast entered the second half with renewed intensity and Jacob Farrell just knocked a close-range shot over the bar in the 47th minute.
But the visitors were unable to conjure an equaliser from there.
