After dispatching Persija Jakarta in the Champions League qualifier by the same scoreline on Tuesday, Merrick made seven changes to the side for the A-League clash.

Jair tucked away the opener in the 22nd minute before City marksman Jamie Maclaren fired home an equaliser (55'), his second in as many matches.

With City piling on the pressure they looked the most likely, until Joey Champness (75') and Roy O’Donovan (79') came off the bench to score two quick-fire goals and seal the points.

"I’m pretty impressed,” Merrick told Fox Sports post-match.

“We managed to change our whole style of football. We didn’t have the legs to run. The boys that are out there that played on Tuesday night did a hell of a job.

We had to play really compactly and catch them on the break and we did that really well, especially Roy and Joey Champness.”

Jair who missed the ACL cut was singled out by Merrick for special praise: “The midfield worked tirelessly. They did a great job and it’s great to see Jair score a goal and play so well.”

Champness, with just his second appearance of the season, finished with a goal and an assist.

Merrick added: “We needed to get Joey game time and he’s proved that he’s not far away from 60 to 70 minutes. And Roy is just so reliable and his speed makes a big difference to our team.”

The Jets now head to Japan for Tuesday’s ACL play-off against powerhouse Kashima Antlers, for their fourth game in 12 days.

“I think we’ll be running on adrenalin alone, they’ll be exhausted but they’ll fire up for that game. It’s very exciting – we’re looking forward to it.”

The result sees the Jets close the gap on the top six to six points while City remain in fifth after their fourth straight away loss.