Soccer: Sydney FC restore pride

Sydney FC fans cheer on their side. Photo / Getty Images

Sydney FC have lifted themselves off the bottom of the A-League ladder with a 2-1 win over Newcastle to break their five-game losing streak last night.

With the finals a near impossibility for Sydney, the club is now playing for pride with the much needed win seeing them leapfrog fellow battlers North Queensland to climb to 10th place.

The result doesn't do any favours for the Jets however, as they desperately make their charge for a top-six spot, the loss leaving them in eighth place.

Japanese import Hirofumi Moriyasu broke Sydney's five-game goal drought with Brazilian striker Bruno Cazarine adding to the tally and super-sub Labinot Haliti getting one back for the hosts.

The Jets were dealt a blow early with Ljubo Milicevic having to leave the pitch with an injured left ankle in the first half and Italian import Marcello Fiorentini coming on to replace him.

Sydney had their first chance in the 21st minute with a shot on goal by Brazilian Cazarine.

Ex-Jets player Nicky Carle then had his sensational 35th minute long-range effort saved by Jets keeper Ben Kennedy in his first match back at his former stomping ground.

But it was Moriyasu who broke through for the visitors a minute later when he met with a Scott Jamieson corner unmarked and sent the ball into the bottom left hand corner.

A minute before the break Cazarine widened the gap for Sydney, scoring off a fumbled Kennedy backpass to send the visitors into the changerooms with a 2-0 advantage.

Jets coach Branko Culina made a double substitution in the 62nd minute, bringing on Haliti and Sasho Petrovski for Ryan Griffiths and Marco Jesic in an obvious attempt to inject some firepower.

And it took only minutes for the changes to pay off for the hosts with Haliti combining brilliantly with Ruban Zadkovic to get a goal back in the 65th minute.

Both subs looked like scoring an equaliser for the Jets when Petrovski met with a Haliti cross only for his header to be denied by the woodwork.

Haliti had another crack minutes later, this time his shot shaving the far post.

Sydney's new Finnish recruit Juho Makela, who only got clearance late on Sunday night, came on in the 76th minute but barely made an impact.

In a heated clash, Griffiths was given the first yellow card of the match before teammate Kasey Wehrman and Sydney's Stephan Keller, Carle, Jamieson and Sebastian Ryall all were carded.

- AAP