In front of a strong home crowd, Sydney started off slowly and were made to pay when Joel Porter slotted in the only goal of the game.

"We were sluggish, they kept picking the second ball up, and we kept giving the ball away," said Sydney FC skipper Steve Corica. "We've got to scrap again to be at the top. We still have tough games coming up."

The Sky Blues coach had no complaints about the points going to the visitors.

Coach Vitezslav Lavicka said: "I'm disappointed but I have to say the better team won. They played better, especially in the first half. They created lots of problems for us in midfield. On the ball we had problems with our movement.

"We have several more experienced and older players in our squad, but today speed let us down."