Victory comes from behind

Kewell scored a sublime second half winner for the Victory after it had fought back from a goal down.

The Socceroo's brilliant left-footed downward volley six minutes after halftime gave his side a lead.

And the Mariners were further hobbled when it went down to 10 men following defender Trent Sainsbury's 62nd minute send-off for a late challenge on Victory's Fabio.

Victory coach Jim Magilton posted his first win in his sixth match with the club on a night of quality goals.

The Victory, who has struggled all season, now move to the edge of the top six and gave a deft display of the attacking menace it has lacked for the most of the season.

The Mariners remain seven points clear atop the table, but itss lead could be cut by second-placed Wellington or third-placed Brisbane when those two clash at Westpac Stadium on Sunday.

Magilton unveiled a radically changed starting 11, with centre-back Mark Milligan moved into a holding midfield role, youngster Jimmy Jeggo alongside him and new Spanish signing Ubay Luzardo in central defence.

But it was restoring Carlos Hernandez - benched for the past two games - to central midfield which proved decisive.

After impressive Mariners youngster Tomas Rogic scored a superb opener on nine minutes, running at the Victory defence, making space, and finishing beautifully, Hernandez levelled things up with a goal equally as brilliant as Kewell's.

Hernandez launched a right-footed thunderbolt, meeting a neat Marco Rojas cut-back from the right with speed and precision to send the ball spiralling in off the post.

Kewell then gave the Victory a lead with a technique-laden goal, setting the nerves on edge for a side whose season has been characterised by late train wrecks to throw away points.

The visitor had its chances to equalise - the best on 55 minutes when Adam Kwasnik shot over the bar when gifted a chance through a defensive error.

But the Victory upped the tempo against the under-manned Mariners in the last ten minutes, with Archie Thompson and substitute Danny Allsopp forcing good late saves from Central Coast keeper Justin Pasfield.