"We weren't great in the first half but we did what we needed to for a clean sheet," Ferguson said.

"The second half was much better. The boys were fantastic at the back and we showed what we can do in attack.

"Fowler put two away and Williams was fantastic, the back four were fantastic and all the boys played well.

"I'm pleased for these boys. They've put in a hell of a shift for the past 10-12 weeks and this makes up for getting hammered by the Gold Coast earlier this season. We have redeemed ourselves."

Ferguson said his team had made big strides since their last trip to Skilled Park.

The Fury coach added: "The last time we were here, it was probably a football lesson for us and we've learnt a lot of things since then.

"We're heading in the right direction, and we know we're heading in the right direction and that's the main thing."

As for the hosts, United boss Miron Bleiberg was extremely disappointed.

"Ever since a few weeks ago everything we've done worked in our favour, today it didn't work or recently it hasn't worked for us," Bleiberg said.

"When it's not working for you it's not working for you, you have to swallow it and keep moving on."

To make matters worse for United, midfielder Robson is likely to be absent for around six weeks with the knee injury that forced him off just before the half-time whistle.

 "The ball didn't bounce for us today but I was proud of the way we continued to try and get back into the game even when we were two-nil down," said Bleiberg.

"There was nothing wrong with the attitude or the work ethic of the team, it just didn't work for us today so we have to swallow it and work towards getting a good result next weekend."