Sydney coach Steve Corica lauded the character and spirit of his team after Adam Le Fondre had the first and last goalscoring say in their thrilling 3-2 home win over Central Coast.
It was just Sydney's second A-League Men's home victory of the season and the first time they had scored back-to-back wins, with the Sky Blues at least temporarily moving up to sixth.
Each team had a key defender sent off in the first half and both sides had a turn In the lead.
Both 36-year-old Le Fondre and the Mariners' Socceroos striker Jason Cummings scored twice, as 16,064 spectators at Allianz Stadium witnessed a gripping encounter.
As they did In their last game against Melbourne Victory, Sydney had to come from behind with Le Fondre's expertly taken 72nd-minute winner and sixth goal of the season settling a gripping contest.
"Fantastic spirit, fantastic character from the boys. They played really well, especially In the second half they really dominated," Corica said.
"I think the last two weeks have shown the fighting spirit they've got to come back In both games, they can only get more confidence from this game."
Le Fondre's first in the tenth minute came after a Max Burgess shot cannoned into him and he reacted the quickest to steer the ball past Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.
Cummings equalised with a penalty after he came into contact with Rhyan Grant, with referee Ben Abraham upgrading the defender's card from yellow to red after reviewing the incident.
The Mariners' numerical advantage lasted just a few minutes, with Brian Kaltak dismissed for a foul on Burgess just outside the away team's penalty area.
Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery said it was "never a red card," and Corica thought both dismissals were "pretty soft."
Cummings scored his tenth goal of the season and put the Mariners ahead in the 33rd minute, when a sleepy Sydney defence didn't react quickly enough after his awkward first touch and he found the net with his second.
The match turned after Marco Tulio missed a glorious chance to increase the Mariners' lead just after halftime.
He missed from a few metres out after Beni Nkololo's shot had been pushed into his path by Sydney goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
"That probably summed us up today, Marco scores a goal, it's 3-1 and probably game over," Montgomery said.
"Some moments in the game really cost us today and that's why we go away empty handed."
Corica bolstered his midfield by introducing Luke Brattan, who hadn't trained properly this week because of a chest illness, and Patrick Yazbek, who will be leaving later this month to join Norwegian club Viking FK.
Joe Lolley volleyed a Diego Caballo cross into the net to level the score in the 58th minute.
His English compatriot Le Fondre displayed his renowned predatory instincts close to goal when he volleyed in a perfect Paulo Retre cross for his third goal across the last two Sydney games.
