Wellington Phoenix have completed their side of the equation, but must wait another few days to learn their A-League premiership fate.
Goals from Kosta Barbarouses, Tim Payne and Oskar Zawada propelled the team from the capital to a 3-0 win over Macarthur FC at Sky Stadium, leaving them one point clear atop the competition table with the completion of their regular season schedule.
Across the Tasman, nearest rivals Central Coast Mariners also put three past Newcastle Jets in victory to stay in touch, with their final game against Adelaide on Wednesday. A draw would be enough to see them claim the Premiers Plate, defeat would award the silverware to the Phoenix.
The home side had the first half chance, when Ben Old chased down a long ball from Scott Wootton and Sam Sutton sent a long-range speculator well over the crossbar. Moments later, Old forced a save from former Wellington keeper Filip Kerto.
Skipper Alex Rufer made a long run to the penalty area and found Old at the far post, but his attempted cross hit the crossbar and Macarthur defused the situation.
Tim Payne found Barbarouses in the box, but his left-footed effort was straight at Kerto.
Barbarouses then sprang free from his markers, as the linesman's flag went up for offside, then went down. Kerto partially covered the shot, David Ball guided the ball over the line, but the offside call stood.
Wellington finally took advantage of all their possession, when Nicholas Pennington found Barbarouses with a long ball and the striker slotted it past the keeper for the lead.
On the other side of the Tasman, almost simultaneously, Mariners also took a 1-0 lead against Newcastle.
Macarthur won the first corner of the match, when Kealey Adamson had shot deflected wide of goal. Then Ulises Davila found Phoenix keeper Alex Paulsen from close range.
The Phoenix had their second, when Sutton found Old down the left and his cross was met at the far post by Payne's thundering header.
They reached halftime 2-0 ahead, with the Mariners clinging to a 1-0 advantage across the ditch, but as the second half began, Newcastle equalised, with a possible draw still not enough to secure the silverware for Wellington.
With Phoenix enjoying a two-goal buffer, the attention turned to events elsewhere.
Replacement Jerry Skotadis forced Paulsen to tip a shot over the crossbar, while at the other end, Sutton sent a left-footed effort across goal.
Meanwhile, the Mariners scored a second goal against the Jets to put one hand on the trophy... and then another to make victory safe.
In Wellington, Zawada made a brief cameo in his battle for fitness and was brought down in the box for a late penalty. The Pole was handed the honours from the spot and he slotted it past his countryman in the bottom right corner.
"Extremely proud, to be honest," reflected Rufer. "Words can't describe how proud I am of this team.
"We've done our best and we have to wait until Wednesday, and if it happens, it happens. We've still got some good footy to play and we're looking forward to it."
Regardless of Wednesday's result, both the Phoenix and Mariners have earnt byes in the first round of playoffs and home fixtures in the second.
Wellington Phoenix 3 (Barbarouses, Payne, Zawada penalty) Macarthur 0
