Wilkinson steered the ball from home close range three minutes before the interval and it looked like remaining 1-0 until Brad Porter was penalised in the box and after seeing his initial effort saved Mile Sterjovski netted Perth's equaliser - his first A-League goal.

The Mariners were not to be denied though and when Tando Velaphi misjudged a ball, Matt Simon was on hand to ram in a last-gasp winner.

The first A-League match at Canberra Stadium appeared to be petering out to a 1-1 result before a tame Mariners' attack was transformed into a goal through Velaphi's error.

On a dewy surface, the Glory stopper charged out to claim a hopeful lofted ball from substitute Dylan Macallister. But when Velaphi over-shot the ball, he compounded his error by slipping over, allowing Macallister to chase down his own ball on the goal-line, squaring it for Simon to tap in at the far post.

It was a dramatic end to an intense encounter between the sides that saw Glory dominate the opening half hour, with striker Branko Jelic rattling the cross bar with a stunning strike in the 31st minute.

But after a week of scrutiny following a poor performance against Brisbane, the Mariners stepped up a gear towards the break, with skipper Alex Wilkinson slipping the ball home for his first  A-League goal in 89 matches, after Velaphi denied Pedj Bojic with a quality finger-tip save.

The Mariners went on to dominate possession for much of the second half, but  Perth side were handed a lifeline in the 80th minute when Brad Porter handballed a Wayne Srhoj cross in the area.

Danny Vukovic got his hand to Mile Sterjovski's spot kick but the Socceroo netted the rebound to cancel out Wilkinson's effort.

Five minutes from time, Srhoj rattled the crossbar himself with a close-range header, but the Mariners soon took the ball forward once again for Simon to find himself in the right place at the right time as Velaphi looked on in despair.