Melbourne City has prevailed in a ding-dong battle against Wellington Phoenix, winning 3-1 to go four points clear at the top of the A-League Men ladder.
City did it the hard way at Wellington's Sky Stadium, falling behind for the first time this season before a pair of Socceroos came to the rescue.
Mathew Leckie equalised and Jamie Maclaren scored a second-half double as City overcame David Ball's inventive backheel opener to assert their dominance.
However, the final scoreline could have been anything, with Nix striker Oscar Zawada missing a raft of chances, including from a heart-in-the-mouth slip from Thomas Glover.
Monday's match pitted two of the league's best entertainers, with the fixture averaging four goals a game over the past four years.
It started at a canter, with Wellington's giant Polish striker Zawada heading wide early before Ball's slice of magic, the Englishman flicking Lucas Mauragis's centring kick beyond the diving Glover.
Whether a tribute or just circumstance, Leckie attempted an exact same backheel-style effort at the other end a minute later, hitting the base of the post.
Another minute later, he found a more conventional way to goal, heading Marco Tilio's cross home.
Chances continued at both ends, with Zawada heading wide from another Mauragis cross and then failing to score with an empty net in front of him.
When Glover stumbled as he attempted to clear, the Pole stole the ball from him and had a brief clear sight of goal, only to scuff his effort and allow the goalkeeper to recover.
Zawada was at the heart of everything, chipping the ball into the back of the net from Bozhidar Kraev's smart through-ball only to be judged offside.
There was no respite from the relentless attack after the break, with Tilio trickery fooling Kraev into a foul in the box that Maclaren scored on 51 minutes.
Searching for another spot kick, Tilio appeared to dive in the box soon after, earning an angry response from Nix defender Tim Payne.
From that point, Wellington surged forward in search of a winner, with Zawada heading straight at Glover once more and substitute Kosta Barbarouses hitting the bar after a tearaway run.
Incredibly, Zawada had another golden chance to equalise in injury time, but chose to turn rather than shoot when a loose ball in the box fell his way.
With Nix fully committed to an equaliser, Maclaren put the game to bed, slotting Andrew Nabbout's centring ball in the 97th minute.
His effort was the 33rd shot on goal of a madcap match, showing City's credentials but also Wellington's achilles heel.
The match was the 15th straight against A-League opposition in which the Nix have conceded, the key reason Ufuk Talay's side is stuck in ninth position.
