United took a 2-1 lead in the break thanks to goals from Tomislav Uskok and Besart Berisha, either side of Matt Simon's 16th-minute equaliser in an entertaining first half.

For a while that deficit remained intact and United appeared to be closing in on only a second win of the season.

But Kuol was introduced from the bench with an hour played and he made a fine impact, first equalising in the 77th minute as he turned in Daniel De Silva's corner, before then getting the winner soon after with a diving header.

There was no such delight for Melbourne City, however, rather despair as last season's grand finalists suffered a third successive A-League loss, this time to Newcastle Jets.

The only goal of the game arrived just before half-time, when Valentino Yuel converted from close range for his fourth goal in five games.