A second-half stunner from Tiago Quintal earned Sydney FC a 1-0 win over Brisbane in a cagey affair at Allianz Stadium.
A quiet game burst to life when the 19 year-old found the top corner after 53 minutes and the Sky Blues held on through a nervy second period to return to third place on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
Brisbane asked a lot of Harrison Demenish-Meares in the later stages of the match, but will remain in eighth spot, two points away from the top six.
The hosts had the better of the opening stages and loanee Apostolos Stamatelopoulos drew a fine save from Dean Bouzanis low to his left.
Sydney continued to threaten and Ahmet Arslan fizzed his shot just wide of the Brisbane upright after 20 minutes.
Tiago Quintal flashed life into a quiet game when he cut in on his left foot and sent his shot flying into the top corner after 53 minutes.
Sydney had the bulk of the football in the second half but failed to capitalise on their time in the attacking third.
15 minutes from time a free-kick gave Brisbane a chance to level the game, but Justin Vidic’s dipping effort was well tipped over by Harrison Devenish-Meares.
Brisbane gave the hosts another scare when Dimitri Valkanis sent his header over the bar from the middle of the area. And in the third minute of stoppage time, Noah Maieroni launched a speculative effort from a very deep free-kick but couldn’t catch out Devenish-Meares who leapt to keep it out.
Sydney FC will travel to Wellington Phoenix for their next match in the Isuzu UTE A-League, while Brisbane host Perth Glory.
