A late Terry Antonis goal saved Sydney FC the embarrassment of letting a seemingly unassailable lead slip from their grasp after scoring a dramatic winner over rivals Western Sydney Wanderers in the Sydney derby

In the most thrilling derby yet, Sydney overcame a mid-game capitulation to heap more woe on the struggling Wanderers who fought back from 3-0 down only to leave empty handed. Lead by new star Kerem Bulut, the Wanderers were on course to seal the most incredible comeback in A-League history only for Antonis to snare a late winner.

The Wanderers will feel more than disheartened after losing a derby they worked so hard only to leave without a point and their slim hopes of a finals berth effectively ended by a home loss to their fiercest rivals.

It took just ten minutes for the first player to crack under pressure and few watching could believe it was the most experienced player on the field. Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic gave Sydney FC an early lead with an uncharacteristic error. A Marc Janko header crashed off the crossbar and Covic's attempted retrieval did more damage than good as he clumsily directed the ball into his own net.

Sydney FC's marquee had to wait only a matter of minutes before etching his name on the scoresheet. With a typical centre forward's goal, Janko  snapped a shot with his back turned, low and into the inside of the cross bar, ricocheting into the net.

By the 24th, the result seemed to be sealed by none other than the big Austrian striker. A seemingly harmless cross by Seb Ryall was poorly handled by Wanderers defender Brendan Hamill and while he was waiting to see where the ball would land, Janko had already pounced. A first time shot passed the static Hamill and into the net to make it 3-0.

It proved breaking point even for their fans. For the first time in their history, the cheer of away supporters could be heard echoing across an otherwise silent Pirtek Stadium. However, only temporarily.

Just as the next 60 minutes appeared to be torture for the home side, Iacopo La Rocca threw them a lifeline. First to react from a header inside the box, the Italian centre midfielder slotted the ball into an empty net. The mood of Tony Popovic's half-time team talk changed completely when Kerem Bulut made it 3-2.

Nikita Rukavytsya broke down the left flank and found Bulut unmarked inside the box with a low cross and the former Sydney FC youth star made no mistake. In his first ever A-League game, against his former club, he brought the Wanderers into the contest and rubbed even more salt into Sydney FC's wounds by kissing the badge in a passionate celebration.

That man made the Sky Blues hurt even more minutes after the break. Bulut broke his former fans hearts with a long range strike from outside the box that pierced through a fog of flare smoke and into the back of the net to make it 3-3.

Unsurprisingly, Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold emptied his bench bringing on Rhyan Grant, Shane Smeltz and Terry Antonis to salvage something from a game they should have had wrapped up by half-time. Instead, they had to wait until the 75th minute. Antonis pounced on a Hamill error to move into the box and brought his side into the ascendancy with a low left-foot drive into the bottom corner of the net.

A late red card for Sydney midfielder Mickael Tavares gave the Wanderers some hope but they couldn't make the most of the numerical advantage.