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Melbourne City have been crowned A-League premiers following their 1-0 home win over the finals-chasing Central Coast Mariners.

Melbourne City have secured the A-League premiership with three games to spare after dramatically defeating Central Coast Mariners 1-0 at AAMI Park.

The three points earned made City's ladder lead unassailable, the premiership supplying the first A-League trophy in the club's eleven-year history.

It also means they are now guaranteed to host the grand final should they qualify.

"It's a funny feeling," said coach Patrick Kisnorbo. "Because I think since day one we've set out to be the best that we could be.

"Tonight, we win the Premiers' Plate. I'm happy for the club and fans and the players that dedicated a lot of time to this happening.

"It's great for everyone at the club, but we're back at it tomorrow to prepare for all the upcoming games."

Immense throughout the contest, Craig Noone provided what proved to be the game's lone goal when he rose over defender Lewis Miller to head home in the 59th minute.

Mariners players and coach Alen Stajcic furiously protested that Miller had been fouled by Noone, only for VAR to clear the Englishman.

In heart-stopping scenes, Jamie Maclaren then had what would have been City's second goal disallowed by VAR for handball in the 86th minute, before Aiden O'Neill brought down Mariners goalkeeper Mark Birighitti - who had come up for a corner in a desperate search for a leveller - for a penalty up the other end.

However, a tense VAR review led to referee Shaun Evans overturning his decision - handing City the crown.

"Was it a foul? I don't know. I'm a coach, I'm biased," Mariners coach Alen Stajcic said.

"I don't know. Apparently, there was a clear and obvious error so they had to look at it.

"It's the referees call not mine. I know you want me to say something controversial. It's their decision. I don't want to talk about the decisions.

"The referee made the decisions, they're the decisions. We have to live with it.

"We lost 1-0. They won. Congratulations. They've had a fantastic year. Congratulations to (Kisnorbo) and the entire playing group."

With three games remaining, the Mariners remain in a dogfight for a space in the top-six and are now just five points clear of seventh-placed Wellington. They will travel to face Macarthur on Thursday night.

"When I saw the (Mariners) penalty, in my opinion, I knew it wasn't," said Kisnorbo.

"Obviously it went to the VAR check and it showed that there was no penalty."