It is no coincidence that three of the A-League's form sides are being fuelled by the goals of Socceroos trio Jamie Maclaren, Craig Goodwin and Mitch Duke.
Scroll down to watch all of their Matchweek 13 strikes and read how Melbourne City, Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers all secured vital victories.
MONDAY - Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren has risen to equal third on the all-time A-League goal scoring charts as he scored his 90th goal against Central Coast Mariners.
A landmark occasion arrived in a spectacular victory for Melbourne City on Monday night as Maclaren got his name on the scoresheet for the 90th time in his A-League career.
His latest goal is enough to see him go equal third with former A-League star, Archie Thompson.
The Socceroos striker was honoured of his achievements in his post-match interview as he took a cheeky jibe at Thompson.
“I was tempted to do the body roll at the corner flag. It’s a proud moment for me and I’m looking to the 100 now,” Maclaren said.
His goal against the Mariners marked his eighth goal in his last five outings as his side made it five wins in a row.
“I think I’m having the sort of purple patch that I had at the start of last year. I’m in a good place and we’re playing some good stuff and we’re keeping some clean sheets which is great.”
Maclaren and his City are building momentum as the season progresses and their latest victory against league leaders Central Coast Mariners comes as a real coup for the club.
Their efforts on the training pitch and work ethic prescribed by coach Patrick Kisnorbo has been one of the main drivers behind their success as they look to continue their spectacular run.
SUNDAY - A Craig Goodwin penalty capped off a ruthless first-half performance from Adelaide United which set up an impressive 4-1 win over Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Reds scored four in the opening 45 minutes against a lacklustre Jets side who put in a disappointing home display. As the Jets lost a fourth successive game, Adelaide secured a fifth win in a row to jump back into third place on the A-League table.
Reds striker Kusini Yengi was handed a starting berth in Carl Veart's side after playing a starring role in Adelaide's win over Melbourne Victory in Matchweek 12. The young striker got the ball rolling with an opportunistic finish on five minutes, before Reds captain Stefan Mauk scored his sixth goal of the campaign to give his team an early 2-0 lead.
Adelaide scored two more goals in quick succession before the half, as Ben Halloran finished off a well-worked team move before Craig Goodwin scored from the spot to hand the Jets a mountain to climb after the break.
Craig Deans brought Ramy Najjarine and Liridon Krasniqi off the bench at half-time, and the home side proceeded to show greater determination and quality. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos netted his first goal as a Jet in the 68th minute to give the Jets reward for effort, but that was all the hosts could muster as they fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat.
FRIDAY - Two goals to Mitchell Duke on either side of half time helped Western Sydney Wanderers cruise past Perth Glory in a well-deserved 3-0 win for the home side at Bankwest Stadium.
The Wanderers saw two strikes to Bernie Ibini and a Kosuke Ota own goal all ruled out for offside in the opening 33 minutes of play but refused to let frustration settle in, mounting attack after attack on Perth's defence which ultimately led to Duke's opener in first-half stoppage time.
The Wanderers talisman emphasised his impact after the break, showing deft skill and speed to take a Keanu Baccus through ball down, blitz through a scattered Perth defence and fire his second goal past Liam Reddy.
James Troisi wrapped up all three points just minutes later, ambling in to tap home into an unmarked net. The offside flag went up to disallow a fourth Wanderers goal, before VAR revoked the decision to hand the hosts their third of the night.
An impressive Wanderers defensive display led by the committed efforts of Ziggy Gordon helped keep Perth off the scoresheet to the final whistle. The three points take Western Sydney into outright ownership of second place on the A-League table, just one win off Central Coast Mariners at the very top.
