Queensland Roar proved they are true contenders for this season's A-League title with an impressive 2-1 win over league leaders Central Coast at Suncorp Stadium.

The win sees the Roar jump three points clear of the third placed Adelaide United on the table, and narrows the lead of the Mariners to one point, although the ladder leaders have a game in hand after the postponement of their round 15 match against Sydney FC.

All the goals came in a frenetic first half, while the Roar dominated possession in the second stanza to hold the lead and record a rare home victory.

Socceroo World Cup qualifier hero John Aloisi put the visitors in front in the 13th minute after finishing off some classy work from his attacking partner Matt Simon.

Simon found space down the right before he threaded a pinpoint pass to a diving Aloisi on the back post, whose boot beat that of defender Stuart McLaren's to the ball to knock into goal.

The equaliser came just eight minutes later when another of the Mariners' Socceroos scored, but this time it was defender Tony Vidmar putting the ball into the back of his own net.

Vidmar inexplicably flayed his boot at what seemed a harmless cross from Roar winger Robbie Kruse, sending it into the top left corner of goal, well out of reach of Mariners 'keeper Danny Vukovic.

Things went from bad to worse for the 37-year-old fullback in the 28th minute when a shot by midfielder Matt McKay deflected off his body and past Vukovic, handing the Roar their 2-1 lead.

McKay's shot from 10 metres out came after a classy exchange of passes between himself and the experienced Danny Tiatto, who impressed from the start playing on the left wing.

The Roar dominated the second half, with several clear opportunities to put the game out of reach.

Fullback Sasa Ognenovski went agonisingly close with his 55th minute free kick from well outside the penalty area that beat everyone, but drifted right of the woodwork.

Tiatto and Kruse, along with Marcinho who replaced an injured Tiatto in the 61st minute, continually created havoc for the Mariners' defenders.

Kruse and Marcinho were the protagonists in a remarkable few seconds in the 71st minute where Vukovic made three saves, all from point-blank range.

Kruse's initial shot bounced off Vukovic's legs and fell to the feet of Marcinho, whose first shot from directly in front hit the scrambling goalkeeper's, before his second took a deflection off Vukovic and over the crossbar.

The Roar had a few nervous moments in the final minutes of the match, but 'keeper Liam Reddy proved his worth and was solid at the back to keep the scores at 2-1, to the delight of the crowd of 16,442.

Roar coach Frank Farina was visibly pleased after the win, and said beating the competition leaders so close to the finals was an important achievement.

"(It was) no more special than any other win, a win's always great, it's three points," he said.

"But against the league leaders at this particular stage of the season it's really pleasing to beat them." Despite controlling the match in the second half Farina conceded there were some nervous moments towards the end when the Mariners went close to equalising.

Fresh in his mind was last week's loss to Newcastle, which came with an injury time goal to the Jets.

"You always shit yourself a bit in the last couple of minutes," Farina said.

"It's always difficult and it's a worry but I thought we did well and hung on." Goal scorer Matt McKay said he and fellow midfielder Massimo Murdocca enjoyed the opportunity to attack in the match.

"We had a fair bit of space in the midfield, they had two central midfielders.

"So it allowed Massimo and myself to push on and take a chance, and I like getting forward." Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna conceded the match was won in the midfield.

"Our biggest problem was when we lost the ball our midfield just didn't get in any shape," he said.

"We were letting people run and not passing men on and taking responsibility."

Both teams now face short preparations before round 17 matches on Friday night.

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