Adelaide United closed to within a point of third place in the A-League after easing past struggling Melbourne Heart 2-0.

United were looking to keep the pressure on Heart's city rivals Melbourne Victory and took a 40th-minute lead through Dario Vidosic's penalty after Marcelo Carrusca went down inside the area after a challenge from Jeremy Walker.

It was to get worse for the side second from bottom of the A-League, who fell further behind when Iain Ramsay scored his fifth goal of the season eight minutes after the interval to seal a comfortable victory for Adelaide.