But after taking the lead three times in a topsy turvy encounter against fourth placed Western United, Canberra came out on the wrong side of a 4-3 result on Friday night.
While goals were pouring down in Melbourne, in Gosford the Central Coast Mariners were looking to overcome a four match winless streak and give themselves breathing room inside the top six.
Standing in their way was a Perth Glory outfit brimming with confidence and needing a win of their own to edge closer to a finals berth.
And Glory forward Sarah O'Donoghue became the Mariners' nemesis, scoring twice and assisting an injury time goal to secure her side a 3-3 draw.
Western, who remain fourth, now have a five point advantage over seventh-placed Canberra, who are a point below sixth-placed Central Coast with four rounds to play.
In Melbourne, Matilda Michelle Heyman's opening touch in her first start since international duty inspired Canberra's opening goal as she laid it off to forward Bethany Gordon. Western's keeper Chloe Lincoln slipped over, allowing Gordon to poke the ball into an open net.
After a sluggish end to the first half, Western sprung into action and equalised through Keiwa Hieda from an Adriana Taranto lob.
Canberra looked to respond immediately and found a goal three minutes later when Madison Ayson headed the ball into the bottom left corner, only for Western to reply when Catherine Zimmerman scored from long range.
Two minutes later, Mary Stanic-Floody joined the goalfest as she found the net in a similar fashion to Zimmerman, trapping the ball outside the box and delivering to the top right corner.
Western huffed and puffed at the Canberra goal and finally found an equaliser when Sarah Ibarguen stretched her right leg to touch the ball past Sally James in the 82nd minute.
In the 89th minute substitute Kiara De Domizio ran towards the right post and booted the ball, seeing it take a deflection off Ayson into the top corner to seal a dramatic victory.
In Gosford, the Mariners numbed Perth's confident start in the 19th minute after Glory keeper Casey Dumont made three saves from a goalmouth scramble.
However, Dumont's final save fell to the feet of Jessika Nash, who fired into the top right corner.
But again the goals came raining in during the second half.
O'Donoghue scored the first from a free kick outside the box, when crept in by the near post.
Seven minutes later, the 19-year-old found her second when Megan Wynne pinched a ball through the centre of the Mariners' defence and took her chance.
The Mariners equalised when Peta Trimis laid the ball off to Annalise Rasmussen.
Eight minutes later in the 70th minute, Central Coast young gun Isabel Gomez found substitute Tiana Fuller, who dribbled past Dumont and drove the ball into the net.
But, in the 93rd minute, O'Donoghue released the ball to Tijan McKenna who fired into the bottom left corner to deny the Mariners a much needed win.
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