McKinna was a relieved man after the Mariners scored a late goal to beat Perth Glory in a crunch A-League match at Gosford on Wednesday night.

In-form midfielder Hutchinson scored from long range to give the Mariners a deserved 1-0 win in front of 15,546 fans at Bluetongue Stadium.

The win put the Mariners in top spot, while Perth will now need a miracle to make the top four.

McKinna said: "It was a game we had to win.

"The first half we dominated and played some good stuff. In the second half they came at us.

"It was going to take a special goal to win it, it was a great strike from Hutch, I was very pleased to see it hit the net."

Hutchinson said he thought his shot from 25m was missing.

"The ball bobbled off my bad touch but I hit it and didn't think it was going in.

"I remember Adrian squaring me up, it bobbled off my bad touch and I thought, I’m just going to hit it, so I did and as soon as it started swerving, I was thinking, please don’t swerve anymore.

"When it hit the post I didn’t think it was going in, luckily it hit the other post and went in.

"I was happy with the strike, the three points and to send Mile off a winner.

"We’ve proven all year what character we have in the side, from the top with Lawrie all the way down to the people working at the club, everyone puts in their fair share and we never ever give up a game, " said the midfielder.