TWO home debuts, a send-off and a man of the match performance in front of a packed crowd were among the highlights as Rockdale City overcame cross-town rivals Sydney Olympic on Sunday night.
An Alec Urosevski double helped the 10-man Suns secure an unlikely 2-1 win after goalkeeper Ivan Necevski was sent off just before half-time.
The 35-year-old former Sydney FC keeper, making his first appearance at the Ilinden Sports Centre, was dismissed just before the break for a foul outside the penalty area.
Former Central Coast Mariners striker Dylan Macallister made his first appearance for Rockdale in his second stint with the club.
The Suns lost player-coach Paul Reid to injury inside the opening 15 minutes.
But Rockdale would not surrender easily and two Urosevski goals after the break was enough to seal a valuable three points for the hosts.
Sutherland suffered a controversial 3-2 loss to Bonnyrigg on Saturday night.
Steve Hayes and Jacob Tratt netted for the Sharks but were left fuming after the White Eagles were awarded a pair of questionable goals.
Rockdale are now level on 20 points for seventh and eighth positions, five points outside the top five.
