The rescheduled Round 15 clash was settled by Ward's powerful header just before the hour and the result sees Melbourne go two points clear of Adelaide on top of the ladder with the Reds having one game in hand.

The win completes a clean sweep for Melbourne in the matches between the teams this year and gives Victory a psychological edge heading into any prospective finals clash between the two teams in February.

Melbourne were the dominant side early in a high-tempo game with no less than six players having shots at goal in the first 20 minutes. Danny Allsopp, Ward and Matthew Kemp had the best of them, but all three were driven straight at Eugene Galekovic.

Cassio conjured Adelaide's first serious chance of the match, turning sharply to hit a shot which flicked the outside of the post on 21 minutes. Adelaide then suffered a blow with Kristian Sarkies injured and replaced by Alemao.

The sides would go to the half scoreless but only after Sasa Ognenovski intervened with a superb tackle shortly before the interval to deny Billy Celeski, who had already beaten three Adelaide defenders and Galekovic then got down low to stop Allsopp's effort.

Early in the second half, Robert Cornthwaite was booked for a foul on Tom Pondeljak and from the resultant free kick Carlos Hernandez forced an excellent save from the Reds' stopper.

The momentum was going all Melbourne's way and on 58 minutes Celeski's well-taken corner found Ward all alone. He made no mistake with his header for his second goal in three games.

Sparked into action, Adelaide could have had an equaliser three minutes later when Cristiano's close-range shot was well-blocked by an advancing Michael Theoklitos. It was to be the Brazilian's final act of the match, replaced by Robert Younis, while Melbourne sent on Grant Brebner for Hernandez.

Soon after, Ney Fabiano replaced Pondeljak as Melbourne took control of the tempo of the match, allowing Adelaide to only shoot from distance. Ognenovski and Allsopp were both booked after an incident in the 77th minute, while Younis was also cautioned soon after.

Content with their night's work, Melbourne looked comfortable against the long-range Adelaide attacks in the final minutes and were rewarded with a third-straight win and a foothold on top spot.

Melbourne Victory 1 (Ward 58)
Adelaide United 0
Crowd: 27,196 at Telstra Dome