Adelaide United has secured a 2-1 victory over the New Zealand Knights in torrential conditions at North Harbour Stadium to extend the gap at the top of the Hyundai A-League table.
After going down 0-1 to Perth Glory at home last week, the Knights played a much more aggressive style of football with defender Neil Emblen proving sturdy at the back.
However, the hopes of the 3,558-strong crowd were decimated when Adelaide striker Qu Shengqing found the net in the 80th minute, breaking a 1-1 deadlock to ensure a win for the visitors.
Both sides struggled early in the match, the slippery conditions making ball control an almost impossible task.
Knights striker Simon Yeo came agonisingly close in the fifth minute, his one-on-one with Adelaide's keeper Robert Bajic amounting to nothing as the shot sailed well wide of the net.
One of the visitors' best scoring chances of the first half came in the 22nd minute when Qu found himself alone against Knights' keeper Glen Moss, the wet conditions again coming into play as his shot sprayed left of the goal.
As half-time approached the weather looked to have set in, the field appearing more like a bath than a playing pitch.
But despite the difficult conditions, Adelaide found the goal first when Qu crossed brilliantly to Travis Dodd in the 33rd minute, the midfielder easily slotting it into the back of the net.
With two minutes left in the half, Yeo finally gave the home crowd something to cheer about, equalising off a cross from striker Sean Devine.
The Knights came out firing after the break with Yeo again looking dangerous in front of goal during the opening five minutes.
Playing in just his second start of the season, Moss was in sound form, thwarting another Adelaide attack in the 55th minute when midfielder Lucas Pantelis took a shot from inside the box.
A moment later the home side was celebrating when the ball skidded dangerously close to the goal line from a Knights' corner kick, however no signal came from the touchline and the referee signaled for play to continue.
The home side's fortunes then took a turn for the worst when Yeo was shown a red card in the 65th minute for a dangerous tackle.
The Knights' fears soon proved justified when Qu secured the three points with a scrappy goal late in the match after a desperate Moss scooped the ball back into play as he slid across the goal line.