But Melbourne City boss John van 't Schip knows from bitter experience not to get too excited with one-off performances by his consistently inconsistent team.

Having blown away Perth Glory in front of their own fans at AAMI Park on Friday night, City are now – on past form, anyway – as likely to go to struggling Central Coast next Thursday night and put in a shocker.

Well, given that match is away from home, perhaps that outcome is marginally less likely.

City have this season reserved most of their grittier and effective performances for away games – they picked up points in Sydney and Brisbane and won in Adelaide –  and the coach and everyone at the club will be anxious to keep the momentum going now that van 't Schip's side has taken four points from their past two games and got themselves back into the top six on the table.

In true coaching fashion van 't Schip said he was happier with his team's second-half performance on Friday night, when they scored twice and kept Perth goalless, than the first 45 minutes, when City raced to a 3-1 half-time lead.

He was right inasmuch as City looked tighter defensively in that second period than they did in the opening half, when Perth snatched a stoppage time goal to give themselves a glimmer of hope.

As van 't Schip put it, both teams had enough chances in that first 45 minutes that it would not have surprised had the score been 4-4 at the interval.

Certainly Kenny Lowe, the Glory coach, agreed, saying his side had manufactured more openings in that half than they had all season.

This was a game lit up once more by an Aaron Mooy masterclass.

Identified this season by Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou as the A-League's best player, Mooy seems to improve on a weekly basis.

He can hit a long or short pass, dribble out of trouble in tight areas, take excellent corners and free kicks (or penalties, as he did on Friday evening) and has a ferocious shot.

All of that repertoire was on display as he orchestrated the demolition of a Glory side that, it must be admitted, was not at full strength. However, the men from WA have proved themselves tough and resilient in similar circumstances before, so the achievements of a City side that was itself missing numerous first choices should not be undervalued.

Mooy is so critical to City's fortunes that the club simply cannot afford to let him go in the January transfer window if they want to remain in contention.

Rumours periodically circulate about players in hot form, and because of City's close ties to Manchester City those rumours inevitably gain greater currency. After all, the English club has signed another A-League midfielder in Luke Brattan, although they immediately loaned him out to struggling Championship club Bolton Wanderers.

But Mooy himself, a quiet man at the best of times, had not said anything about wanting to have another go at playing in Europe.

He recently signed a new deal to stay in Melbourne, the club boosting his wage packet and making him their Australian marquee player. He has only this week become a father for the first time, daughter Skylar being born on Wednesday.

And Postecoglou, who has made him a regular in the national team in the past months, has repeatedly said that a player does not have to  move to Europe to be considered for the Socceroo starting line up. For Postecoglou what matters most is that a player is playing regularly, and well.

Van't Schip said on Friday night that while he was sure Mooy could play at a much higher level he hoped that he would remain with City, at least for a while longer.

"Aaron is a good player, he is a great player, he is showing in the Socceroos he has the same importance that he has in the A-League.

"I am confident that he can play in a very high and good level. We are happy that he is with us, and he is happy too," the Dutchman said.

"If you have a player who is playing that well there is interest. At the moment its very clear, even if there is interest, Aaron has made that decision [to sign a new deal with City].

"It's first and for all that Aaron is happy ... he just became a father, I am happy for him

"The fact that he is here, that people can enjoy him. I think its great to have a player like Aaron in the A-League and hopefully he can stay as long as possible."

The only downside from a night when City had plenty of reasons to be cheerful was the knee injury sustained by comeback kid Corey Gameiro.

The former Sydney winger was starting only for the second time since coming back from a knee reconstruction which kept him out for almost a year, and he was due to have scans over the weekend.

It's just another injury woe for van 't Schip, who will now prepare for next Thursday's game in Gosford and demand similar commitment from his squad.

"With the confidence that we build on, we have to use it in the right way and in the past we haven't," he said.

"We've had problems in getting another result and that defines the next step.We want to be with the best but we're not there yet because if you want to be there you've got to more consistent."